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Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic rheumatic disease that can affect the whole body with symptoms such as pain, physical function, fatigue, poor quality of life, and anxiety-depression, in addition to skin involvement and physical findings 1,2. Therefore, SSc involves psychological and social processes as well as biological. For this reason, assessment of the biopsychosocial characteristics of individuals with SSc comes to the forefront 2,3. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the BETY-Biopsychosocial Questionnaire (BETY-BQ), which can perform biopsychosocial assessment, in individuals diagnosed with SSc. Methods: Individuals aged 18-65 years with a diagnosis of SSc who visited the Hacettepe University Rheumatology outpatient clinic were included in the study. Biopsychosocial status was assessed by BETY-BQ, skin involvement by modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), functionality by Modified Hand Mobility in Scleroderma (mHAMIS) and Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire (SHAQ), anxiety-depression by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and quality of life by Short Form-36 (SF-36). The BETY-BQ was completed a second time one week after the first completion of the scale. Internal consistency was determined by Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability by ICC (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient). Results: The study included 45 individuals with a mean age of 46.6 ± 12.0 years. Participants had a median (min/max) mRSS of 5.0 (3/28) for skin involvement. 20 individuals performed a test-retest. According to the results of the correlation analysis for validity, there was a significant correlation between the BETY-BQ and all scales (pConclusion: When we investigated the validity (correlation with other scales) and reliability (test-retest) of the BETY-BQ in individuals with SSc in this pilot study, the positive results obtained showed that the BETY-BQ is a potentially valid and reliable scale for assessing biopsychosocial status. Based on these data, it was concluded that the study should be continued until the number of cases compatible with the number of scale items is reached. REFERENCES: 1 Denton CP, Khanna D. Systemic sclerosis. The Lancet 2017;390:1685–99. 2 Leon L, Abasolo L, Redondo M, et al. Negative affect in systemic sclerosis. Rheumatol Int 2014;34:597-604. 3 Hudson M, Thombs BD, Steele R, et al. Health-related quality of life in systemic sclerosis: a systematic review. Arthritis Rheum. 2009;61(8):1112-1120. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.
Tüfekçi et al. (Sat,) studied this question.