Psychometric evaluation of the Korean version of the Diabetes Symptom Checklist-Revised (DSC-R) for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study was to elucidate the psychometric properties of the Korean

version of the Diabetes Symptom Checklist-Revised (K-DSC-R), which is a

patient-reported outcome measure of diabetes symptom burden. METHODS: A sample of

432 Korean patients with diabetes was recruited from university hospitals. The

data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor

analysis (CFA), multitrait/multi-item correlation, Pearson's correlation, t-test,

ANOVA, and Cronbach's alpha for construct, item-convergent/discriminant,

concurrent, and known-groups validity, and internal consistency reliability.

RESULTS: EFA extracted a total of 29 items clustered into 7 subscales from the

K-DSC-R. The construct of the seven-subscales was supported by CFA. The scaling

success rates of item-convergent validity were 100% for all subscales, and those

of item-discriminant validity ranged from 83.3% to 100%. Patients in

more-depressed groups and in the HbA1c-uncontrolled group had higher K-DSC-R

scores, satisfying the known-groups validity. The subscales of the K-DSC-R were

moderately correlated with health-related quality of life, indicative of the

established concurrent validity. The Cronbach's alpha of the K-DSC-R was 0.92.

CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the K-DSC-R have been established. It

is thus appropriate for use with respect to reliability and validity in practice

and clinical trials for Korean patients with type 2 diabetes.