Psychometric validation of the Korean version of PROMIS 29 Profile V2.1 among patients with lower extremity problems

BACKGROUND: Patients with lower extremity problems (LEP) commonly experience functional loss, pain, decreased range of motion, inadequacy in daily living activities, and structural change in radiographic evaluations. However, the traditional patient-reported outcome measurement which focused on symptoms, had a limited scope of applicability. This study aimed to validate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of PROMIS-29 Profile v2.1 (K-PROMIS-29 V2.1), a multi-dimensional measure for assessing generic profile health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) in a sample of patients with lower extremity problems (LEP). METHODS: Participants were recruited from the orthopedic outpatient clinics at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea from September to October 2018. Participants completed a survey questionnaire that included the K-PROMIS-29 V2.1 and the SF-36v2. Principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Pearson’s correlations were used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the K-PROMIS-29 V2.1. RESULTS: A total of 299 participants were enrolled in the study and 258 (86%) completed the study questionnaire. The mean age (SD) of the participants was 56.6 (14.5) and 32.3%, 29.8, and 25.2% of the study participants visited outpatient clinics for foot, knee, and hip problems respectively. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 7 sub-domains in K-PROMIS-29 V2.1 ranged from 0.80 to 0.95, indicating satisfactory internal consistency. In CFA, the goodness-of-fit indices were high (CFI = 0.937 and SRMR = 0.061). High to moderate correlations were found between comparable subscales of the K-PROMIS-29 V2.1 and subscales of the SF-36v2 (r = 0.55–0.70). CONCLUSIONS: The K-PROMIS-29 V2.1 is a reliable and valid measure for assessing a broad range of health-related quality-of-life domains in patients with LEP. It would reflect the real-life symptoms experienced by patients with LEP. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13102-021-00374-1.