The aim of the study was to investigate the reliability and validity of Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO-26) in male osteoporosis patients from Chinese population. The simplified Chinese version of Male QUALEFFO-26 was translated and adapted on the basis of QUALEFFO-31, which was assigned to the cases and controls together with SF-36. Reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's α. Validity was assessed with Pearson's correlation analysis between the similar domains of the two questionnaires. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was carried out to determine the ability of male QUALEFFO-26 to discriminate between cases and controls. The ICC was 0.83 for pain domain, 0.79 for mental domain and 0.81 for physical function. Cronbach's α of each domain ranged from 0.82 to 0.89. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated significantly high correlations between corresponding domains of QUALEFFO-26 and SF-36, with r ranging from -0.523 to -0.832. ROC analysis showed that all the domains of QUALEFFO-26 were significantly predictive of vertebral deformity, with the values of AUC ranging from 0.68 to 0.84. The simplified Chinese version of Male QUALEFFO-26 was a valid, reliable and repeatable instrument showing favorable psychometric characteristics. The questionnaire can be used in male osteoporosis patients from Chinese population.
Keywords: Male; Osteoporosis; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Validation.