Development and validation of the RQLQ: a Raynaud’s disease–specific measure of health-related quality of life

Abstract

Introduction/objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Raynaud Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) for assessing health-related quality (HRQOL) of life in patients with Raynaud’s disease (RD). Method: The questionnaire was developed and validated in three stages. Initially, semi-structured interviews with 28 RD patients identified domains of everyday life affected by RD, leading to the creation of the initial RQLQ. In the first quantitative stage, 101 patients completed the RQLQ, and exploratory factor analysis assessed dimensionality and factor structure. After removing poorly performing items, the final RQLQ was tested with 102 patients. This stage also evaluated convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity, as well as internal reliability. Results: From the interviews, 135 items were generated, with factor analysis refining the measure to 29 items across five subscales, showing good internal consistency. The RQLQ demonstrated significant correlations with self-rated quality of life and physical and mental health outcomes, confirming convergent and divergent validity. It also showed discriminant validity for different levels of disease activity. Conclusions: The RQLQ is the first specific HRQOL measure for RD patients, proving to be a psychometrically sound, reliable, and valid tool for clinical research and practice. (Table presented.)