Validation of a Chinese version of the short form of the pelvic organ prolapse/urinary incontinence sexual questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION: Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in women with pelvic organ prolapse and/or urinary incontinence. An instrument is needed to assess sexual function in urogynecologic patients who speak Chinese.

AIM: To evaluate the reliability and validity of a Chinese translation of the short form of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12) in urogynecologic patients in Taiwan.

METHODS: After a pilot study showing good test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Chinese PISQ-12, 120 urogynecological patients and 63 normal women were recruited. All participants underwent the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system and urodynamic assessment. They each completed the Chinese PISQ-12 and the short form of Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PISQ-12, POP-Q system and IIQ-7 scores were compared between the urogynecologic patients and normal controls.

RESULTS: The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Chinese PISQ-12 total score (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.939, Cronbach's alpha = 0.892, respectively) and of each of its three domains were excellent. The mean total PISQ-12 score and mean scores in each domain indicated significantly worse sexual dysfunction in the urogynecologic group as compared with the control group were correlated with the severity of prolapse and distress caused by incontinence.

CONCLUSION: This Chinese translation of the PISQ-12 is a reliable, consistent and valid instrument to evaluate sexual function in Taiwanese women with pelvic organ prolapse and/or urinary incontinence.