The validity of single-item measures of health-related quality of life across groups differing in acute respiratory symptom severity

Practical considerations precluding health-related quality of life (HRQOL) monitoring in population and clinical research have spawned development of improved items for more brief surveys of frequently measured HRQOL outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate the use of the Quality of Life General (QGEN-8), a shorter 8-item alternative to the longer 36-item short form (SF)-36 Health Survey for measuring the same eight HRQOL domains across groups of adults with varying severity of acute respiratory symptoms, such as cough and sore throat.

National Opinion Research Center (NORC) representative probability (N = 1,648) and supplemental opt-in (N = 5,915) U.S. adult samples were surveyed cross-sectionally online in 2020. Parallel analyses compared QGEN-8 and SF-36 estimates of group means for each of eight matching profile domains and summary physical and mental scores across groups differing in severity of acute symptoms and chronic respiratory conditions using analysis of covariance (ANCOVAs) controlling for socio-demographics and presence of chronic respiratory conditions.

In support of discriminant validity, ANCOVA estimates of QGEN-8 means with SF-36 estimates revealed the same patterns of declining HRQOL with the presence and increasing severity of symptoms and chronic condition severity.

QGEN-8^® shows satisfactory validity and warrants further testing in cross-sectional and longitudinal population and clinical survey research as a more practical method for estimating group differences in SF-36 profile and summary component HRQOL scores.