Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41872861›Full record

SynthesisHealth and quality of life outcomes2026

Psychometric properties of health-related quality of life assessment instruments in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a systematic review applying COSMIN methodology.

Kailin Su, Zhenzhen Feng, Lu Wang, Guixiang Zhao, Jiajia Wang, Jiansheng Li

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Health and quality of life outcomes, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Kailin SuDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
Zhenzhen FengDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
Lu WangDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
Guixiang ZhaoDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
Jiajia WangDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
Jiansheng LiDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450003, China. li_js8@163.com.

Funding

the Research Project of the National Center for the Inheritance and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Henan Provincial Health Commission 2023ZXZX1126
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with heavy symptom burden, limited treatment options, poor prognosis, and significant economic burden, and severely impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Optimizing HRQoL has become an important clinical goal in IPF management. Accurately assessing HRQoL is crucial for optimizing clinical practice and providing a key outcome measure data for clinical research. Although multiple HRQoL assessment instruments exist for IPF, the absence of a universally accepted gold standard, combined with insufficient systematic synthesis and standardized evaluation of their psychometric properties, hinders evidence-based instrument selection. This systematic review aims to provide clinicians and researchers with evidence-based guidance for selecting high-quality HRQoL assessment instruments for IPF by comprehensively evaluating existing instruments’ methodological quality and psychometric properties.

methodsWe conducted systematic searching through PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to June 26, 2025, for studies evaluating psychometric properties of HRQoL instruments in IPF. Two reviewers independently took charge of record screening, data extraction and quality assessment using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology. Recommendations were formulated by integrating assessments with the evidence grading system. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO: CRD420251081250.

resultsTwenty-one studies covering fourteen HRQoL assessment scales for IPF were included. These scales comprised five generic instruments (e.g., St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire, EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level) and nine disease-specific tools (e.g., St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire-IPF-specific version (SGRQ-I), King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease questionnaire (K-BILD), Living with IPF questionnaire). Among the scales, the SGRQ-I and K-BILD were the most studied, with five studies each, and also had the most assessment dimensions of psychometric properties, covering seven properties each. A majority of scales lacked comprehensive validation of content and cross-cultural validity, and none reported measurement error test results. All fourteen scales were ultimately rated as Grade B recommendation.

conclusionCurrently, no HRQoL assessment instruments can be unrestrictedly recommended for use in IPF based on the evaluation of their quality. We recommend that future studies draw on the COSMIN guidelines to refine the validation of psychometric properties for existing instruments, or to develop novel high-quality assessment instruments, facilitating accurate evaluation of HRQoL in IPF.

Indexed as

Idiopathic Pulmonary FibrosisPsychometricsQuality of LifeHumansSurveys and QuestionnairesCOSMIN guidelinesHealth-related quality of lifeIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosisMeasurement instrumentSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID41872861
PMCPMC13134188

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.