Brief Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 14, 2010; 16(46): 5838-5844
Published online Dec 14, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i46.5838
Table 1 Patients’ demographic and medical characteristics
n (%)Mean scoreP-value
Sex
Men125 (60.7)4.77 (1.26)0.61
Women81 (39.3)4.85 (1.13)
Age (yr)
≤ 3940 (19.4)5.19 (1.15)0.02
40-5999 (48.1)4.92 (1.22)
≥ 6067 (32.5)4.40 (1.13)
Educational level
Primary74 (35.9)4.55 (1.19)0.03
Secondary85 (41.3)4.84 (1.24)
Higher47 (22.8)5.13 (1.09)
Family status
Married144 (69.9)4.74 (1.22)0.27
Non-married62 (30.1)4.94 (1.17)
Child-Pugh classification
Class A49 (23.8)4.71 (1.06)< 0.001
Class B32 (15.5)3.82 (1.12)
Class C16 (7.8)3.36 (0.88)
No Cirrhosis109 (52.9)5.34 (0.95)
Etiology of liver disease
Hepatitis B78 (37.9)5.07 (1.01)< 0.001
Hepatitis C65 (31.6)4.97 (1.22)
Autoimmune hepatitis12 (5.8)4.72 (1.31)
Cirrhosis36 (17.5)3.92 (1.22)
Other15 (7.3)4.87 (1.10)
Table 2 The 29 Greek chronic liver disease questionnaire items
CLDQ itemmean ± SD
Q1Abdominal bloating5.08 ± 2.01
Q2Tiredness or fatigue3.98 ± 2.14
Q3Bodily pain5.22 ± 2.03
Q4Sleepiness during the day4.96 ± 1.89
Q5Abdominal pain5.67 ± 1.84
Q6Shortness of breath5.42 ± 2.02
Q7Not eating enough4.78 ± 2.35
Q8Decreased strength4.50 ± 2.21
Q9Trouble in carrying or lifting heavy objects4.59 ± 2.49
Q10Anxiety3.40 ± 2.29
Q11Decreased energy4.50 ± 2.25
Q12Unhappiness4.67 ± 2.02
Q13Drowsiness5.04 ± 1.87
Q14Bothered by a limitation of the diet3.17 ± 2.50
Q15Irritability4.33 ± 2.12
Q16Difficulty in sleeping at night4.91 ± 2.15
Q17Abdominal discomfort5.16 ± 2.05
Q18Worries about the impact of the liver disease3.95 ± 2.22
Q19Mood swings4.55 ± 2.01
Q20Difficulty falling asleep at night5.07 ± 2.15
Q21Muscle cramps5.50 ± 1.87
Q22Worries that symptoms will develop into major problems4.21 ± 2.05
Q23Dry mouth5.17 ± 2.06
Q24Depression4.74 ± 2.04
Q25Worries that the condition is getting worse4.28 ± 2.12
Q26Problems5.75 ± 1.74
Q27Itching5.78 ± 1.91
Q28Worries about never feeling any better4.46 ± 2.22
Q29Concerned about the availability of a liver in the case of a transplant6.41 ± 1.42
Table 3 Inter-item correlation matrix for Greek chronic liver disease questionnaire
Q1Q2Q3Q4Q5Q6Q7Q8Q9Q10Q11Q12Q13Q14Q15Q16Q17Q18Q19Q20Q21Q22Q23Q24Q25Q26Q27Q28Q29
Q11.000.450.420.220.450.370.290.350.340.300.410.200.180.210.210.310.590.260.230.360.160.220.280.200.290.250.360.310.16
Q20.451.000.560.340.420.570.520.760.670.300.750.340.420.220.300.430.430.400.440.410.210.350.330.310.380.300.320.390.13
Q30.420.561.000.390.370.330.280.500.410.290.520.370.420.120.180.320.390.240.380.340.210.120.370.300.180.200.240.180.10
Q40.220.340.391.000.280.340.290.330.300.260.400.240.720.170.160.320.220.200.330.280.280.230.290.190.260.300.140.260.31
Q50.450.420.370.281.000.410.320.400.360.180.430.180.260.240.170.350.500.340.240.280.140.200.270.170.260.170.230.220.22
Q60.360.570.330.340.411.000.490.580.570.240.610.200.320.350.280.480.470.390.330.470.290.280.320.290.290.210.320.350.20
Q70.290.520.280.290.320.491.000.540.500.360.600.380.280.280.340.400.390.410.400.390.310.360.190.360.390.260.270.390.12
Q80.350.760.500.330.400.580.541.000.780.310.870.440.390.280.260.410.430.420.440.420.200.350.280.380.420.320.320.400.13
Q90.340.670.410.300.360.570.500.781.000.280.770.320.350.320.180.390.480.300.370.380.190.240.320.210.310.230.360.320.09
Q100.300.300.290.260.180.240.360.310.281.000.370.410.290.160.450.300.230.360.480.320.180.270.240.360.350.290.080.290.09
Q110.410.750.520.400.430.610.600.870.770.371.000.390.400.310.310.420.430.420.470.430.260.380.290.360.420.330.320.400.13
Q120.200.340.370.240.180.200.380.440.320.410.391.000.300.230.350.360.290.340.630.360.080.350.240.680.440.220.160.410.10
Q130.180.420.420.720.260.320.280.390.350.300.400.301.000.100.150.300.280.230.360.340.280.150.320.260.250.400.200.250.18
Q140.210.220.120.170.240.350.280.280.320.160.310.230.101.000.140.220.290.360.120.280.060.200.220.140.230.070.170.270.17
Q150.210.300.180.160.170.280.340.290.180.450.310.350.150.141.000.340.200.460.430.350.130.330.040.320.370.210.120.330.13
Q160.310.430.320.320.350.480.400.410.390.300.420.360.300.220.341.000.360.300.400.840.280.170.320.380.200.250.220.240.24
Q170.590.430.390.220.500.470.390.430.480.230.430.290.280.290.200.361.000.360.310.380.220.280.390.290.360.190.370.350.12
Q180.260.400.240.200.340.390.410.420.300.340.420.340.230.360.460.300.361.000.400.330.150.510.110.380.530.130.190.530.20
Q190.230.440.380.330.240.330.400.440.370.480.470.630.360.120.430.400.310.401.000.420.140.360.270.600.450.200.240.450.15
Q200.360.410.340.280.280.470.390.420.380.320.430.360.340.280.350.840.380.330.421.000.300.220.340.390.220.290.260.270.21
Q210.160.210.210.280.140.290.310.200.190.180.260.080.280.060.130.280.220.150.140.301.000.140.250.210.150.150.230.130.18
Q220.220.350.120.230.200.280.360.350.240.270.380.350.150.200.330.170.280.510.360.220.141.000.160.430.810.150.100.740.15
Q230.270.330.370.290.270.320.190.280.320.240.290.240.320.220.040.320.390.110.270.340.250.161.000.260.150.280.320.140.17
Q240.200.310.300.190.170.290.360.380.210.360.360.680.260.140.320.380.290.380.600.390.210.430.2610.00.500.190.180.490.09
Q250.290.380.180.260.250.290.390.420.310.350.420.440.250.230.370.200.360.530.450.220.150.810.150.501.000.150.110.860.08
Q260.250.300.200.300.170.210.260.320.230.290.330.220.400.070.210.250.190.130.200.290.150.150.280.190.151.000.040.190.13
Q270.360.320.240.140.230.320.270.320.360.080.320.160.200.170.120.220.370.190.240.260.230.100.320.180.110.041.000.120.17
Q280.310.390.180.260.220.350.390.400.320.290.400.410.250.270.330.240.350.530.450.270.130.740.140.490.860.190.1210.00.13
Q290.160.130.100.310.220.200.120.130.090.090.130.100.180.170.130.240.120.200.150.210.180.150.170.090.080.130.190.131.00
Table 4 Exploratory factors and explained variance after rotation for the Greek chronic liver disease questionnaire
FactorsRotation sums of squared loadings
Rescaled loadingsEigen values% of varianceCumulative varianceCronbach’s alpha
Factor IQuestion 20.72
Question 80.84
Question 90.844.0814.0714.070.91
Question 110.82
Question 180.55
Factor IIQuestion 220.85
Question 250.873.2411.0725.240.93
Question 280.85
Factor IIIQuestion 10.79
Question 50.572.789.5734.810.80
Question 170.74
Factor IVQuestion 40.832.498.643.410.91
Question 130.8
Factor VQuestion 120.792.428.3551.760.79
Question 240.73
Factor VIQuestion 160.792.117.2759.030.84
Question 200.77
Factor VIIQuestion 100.721.685.7864.810.67
Question 150.73
Table 5 Sensitivity and specificity values of different cut-off scores of the Greek chronic liver disease questionnaire for identifying level of quality of life
Threshold scoresSensitivity (%)Specificity (%)
147.5057.899.0
157.5064.682.2
167.5074.371.6
175.5085.455.8
185.5092.237.0
194.5098.516.8