The Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) instrument is a questionnaire for patients with the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It can be used to assess how the disorder is affecting the person's life and how effective therapeutic interventions have been. The authors are from the Universities of North Carolina, Washington at Seattle, and Toronto.
The instrument consists of 34 items.
Group 1: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34
|
Response Group 1 |
Points |
|
not at all |
1 |
|
slightly |
2 |
|
moderately |
3 |
|
quite a bit |
4 |
|
extremely |
5 |
Group 2: 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 30, 31, 32, 33
|
Response Group 2 |
Points |
|
not at all |
1 |
|
slightly |
2 |
|
moderately |
3 |
|
quite a bit |
4 |
|
a great deal |
5 |
|
Subscale |
Questions |
Minimum |
Maximum |
|
dysphoria |
1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 30 |
8 |
40 |
|
interference with activity |
3, 18, 19, 22, 27, 29, 31 |
7 |
35 |
|
body image |
5, 21, 25, 26 |
4 |
20 |
|
health worry |
4, 15, 32 |
3 |
15 |
|
food avoidance |
11, 23, 28 |
3 |
15 |
|
social reaction |
2, 14, 17, 34 |
4 |
20 |
|
sexual |
12, 20 |
2 |
10 |
|
relationship |
8, 24, 33 |
3 |
15 |
subscale score =
= SUM(points for component statements)
Interpretation:
• minimum total score: 34
• maximum total score: 170
• The higher the score the more seriously affected the person's life.
Performance:
• A change in the score correlates with other measures of treatment effect.
• The score can distinguish people who respond to treatment from those who do not.
