Validation of the mini pediatric asthma quality of life questionnaire and identification of risk factors affecting quality of life among Lebanese children

ABSTRACTBackground: Few studies used various scales to assess the QOL in Lebanon in general but none was specific to asthma. Our objective was to assess the asthma-related quality of life, using the mini Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), in Lebanese asthmatic children, check its validity compared to the original version, and identify clinical and sociodemographic risk factors that might affect these children's QOL. Methods: This retrospective study included 300 children aged between 7–16 years (51.6% boys and 48.4% girls). To confirm the mini-PAQLQ questionnaire construct validity in the Lebanese population, an exploratory factor analysis was launched for the 13 items of the questionnaire, using the principal component analysis technique. Cronbach's alpha was recorded for reliability analysis. A multivariate analysis linear regression was carried out, taking the QOL score as the dependent variable. Results: The correlation coefficients for factors 1 (symptoms and emotions) and 2 (act...