PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate and validate the ADDQoL and to assess the impact of diabetes on QoL among the type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Malaysia.
METHODS: The Malay and English versions of the ADDQoL questionnaire were administered to patients attending routine outpatient visits in three primary hospitals and a public clinic. The construct validity of the ADDQoL was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The sample comprised 350 Malay respondents who rated the ADDQoL Malay version and 246 non-Malay respondents (Chinese or Indian) who answered using the ADDQoL original English version.
RESULTS: CFA confirmed the presence of one-factor structure for both samples. The internal consistency was high with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.945 and 0.907 for the ADDQoL Malay and English versions, respectively. Results showed that for all three ethnicities, the most important domain is 'family life'. Overall, Malay patients stated their 'living conditions' is the most negatively affected, while for Chinese and Indians, diabetes has the greatest impact on their 'freedom to eat'.
CONCLUSIONS: The ADDQoL was found to be culturally appropriate, valid and reliable among Malay- and English-speaking type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Malaysia.
Study site: routine outpatient visits in three primary hospitals and a public clinic