Objective: This study aimed to translate and validate the narcolepsy quality-of-life instrument with 21 questions (NARQoL-21) in Chinese pediatrics with narcolepsy.
Methods: NARQoL-21 was translated following the 10 steps of scale translation. The translated version was tested by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), known-group validity, criterion validity, Cronbach’s α and test-rest reliability.
Results: The Chinese version of NARQoL-21 consisted of two factors: (psychosocial factors and future outlook factor), including 20 items. EFA yielded 3 domains for psychosocial factors and 1 domain for future outlook factor. The Chinese version had a negative correlation with the overall Modified Epworth Sleepiness Scale (r = − 0.518, p< 0.001) and meaningful difference in score between drug naïve and treated group (p< 0.05). The Cronbach’s α coefficient was higher than 0.7 and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ranged from 0.75 to 0.905, indicating that it had good reliability.
Conclusion: The Chinese version of the NARQoL-21 is available and can be used to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of pediatric narcoleptics, despite that there is a shift in factors compared to the English version due to cultural differences. Future studies are recommended to further validate the scale in Chinese pediatrics with narcolepsy.
Keywords: narcolepsy, pediatrics, quality of life, validation study