Psychometric properties of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 instrument: A systematic review using COSMIN methodology

Abstract

The Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) is a multidimensional measure of the quality of life regarding physical and mental functions, kidney disease burden, symptoms and problems, and the effects of kidney disease on daily life, which is commonly used in clinical evaluations of patients with chronic kidney disease. We conducted a systematic review of the psychometric properties of the KDQOL-36, searching databases from 1994 to December 2020 and selecting 15 studies for independent assessments of methodological quality, measurement properties, and quality of evidence according to COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) criteria. The KDQOL-36 demonstrated inconsistent, very low quality evidence for structural validity, internal consistency, reliability, and responsiveness, and inconsistent, low quality evidence for content validity and hypothesis testing. There was no evidence for cross-cultural validity or measurement error due to lack of relevant data. The findings indicate that this instrument is categorized as B according to COSMIN, and thus can be recommended for assessing the quality of life for patients with chronic kidney disease, but should be evaluated with further psychometric studies.