INTRODUCTIONThe World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire is a 26-item questionnaire that evaluates 4 domains of quality of life (QoL), namely Physical, Psychological, Social Relationships and Environment. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF among Singapore residents aged 21 and above.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe recruited participants from the general population by using multistage cluster sampling and participants from 2 hospitals by using convenience sampling. Participants completed either English, Chinese or Malay versions of the WHOQOL-BREF and the EuroQoL 5 Dimension 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis, known-group validity, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were performed.

RESULTSData from 1316 participants were analysed (Chinese: 46.9%, Malay: 41.0% and Indian: 11.7%; 57.5% mean, mean standard deviation [SD, range] age: 51.9 [15.68, 24 to 90] years); 154 participants took part in the retest in various languages (English: 60, Chinese: 49 and Malay: 45). Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) was 0.919, 0.913 and 0.909 for the English, Chinese and Malay versions, respectively. Cronbach's alpha exceeded 0.7 and ICC exceeded 0.4 for all domains in all language versions.

CONCLUSIONThe WHOQOL-BREF is valid and reliable for assessing QoL in Singapore. Model fit is reasonable with room for improvement.

INTRODUCTIONThe Diabetes Health Profile-18 (DHP-18) measures diabetes-related psychological well-being in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It includes 3 subscales: psychological distress (PD), barriers to activity and disinhibited eating. The psychometric properties of the DHP have not been evaluated in Asia. The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the DHP in multiethnic Singapore.

MATERIALS AND METHODSPatients between the ages of 18 to 65 diagnosed with diabetes (either type 1 or type 2) for at least 1 year were recruited from a diabetes outpatient clinic in a tertiary hospital. They completed a set of self-administered questionnaires including sociodemographic information and the DHP. Validity of the DHP was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Reliability was assessed with internal consistency and sensitivity was determined by effect size, associated with detecting a statistically significant and clinically important difference between various patient subgroups.

RESULTSA total of 204 patients with mean age 45.4 (11.9) years, comprising 64% males and 50% Chinese, 27% Indian and 12% Malay were studied. In CFA, model fit was poor. Forced 3-factor EFA supported the original 3-factor structure of the DHP. Convergent and discriminant validity was demonstrated (100% scaling success). DHP was sensitive across majority of social demographic, clinical and social-functioning determinants (i.e., effect size >0.3). Cronbach's alpha exceeded 0.70 for all subscales. Ceiling effects were negligible but large floor effects were seen for the PD subscale (23%).

CONCLUSIONThe DHP is valid, reliable and sensitive for measuring well-being in Asian patients with T2DM.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; psychology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; psychology ; Emotional Adjustment ; Ethnic Groups ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Feeding Behavior ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psychological Tests ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Singapore ; Stress, Psychological ; diagnosis ; etiology ; psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes increases the risk of ischaemic stroke especially among Asians. This study aims to investigate contemporaneous long-term cardiovascular outcomes of ischaemic stroke patients with diabetes in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort. METHODS: Consecutive patients with ischaemic stroke were recruited from the National University Hospital, Singapore. Data on age, gender, ethnicity, risk factors (including diabetes status and body mass index [BMI]), stroke severity and mechanisms were collected. These patients were followed up until the day of the first cardiovascular event or July 2016, whichever was earlier. The primary endpoint was the time from enrolment to the first occurrence of a composite of cerebrovascular and coronary artery events. RESULTS: Between July 2011 and December 2013, 720 patients (mean age 60.6 years, 71% men, 43% with diabetes, median National Institute Health Stroke Severity scale 2) were enrolled and followed up. A total of 175 cardiovascular events occurred during a median follow-up of 3.25 years (6.90 events per 1,000 person-month), comprising 133 cerebrovascular and 42 coronary artery events. The adjusted hazard ratio of diabetes was 1.50 (95% CI 1.08-2.10). In a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model, Malay and Indian ethnicities, BMI <23kg/m2 and a prior diagnosis of diabetes were identified as independent predictors of recurrent cardiovascular events. CONCLUSION Our study provides quantitative data on the event rates of ischaemic stroke patients with diabetes. These findings provide insights on stroke predictors in a multi-ethnic Asian population, which may have implications in the design of future interventional studies.