ArticleBMC gastroenterology2026
Item analysis of the gastroesophageal reflux disease quality of life instrument QLICD-GERD based on classical test theory and item response theory.
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common digestive disorder that severely affects patients' physical and psychological health, leading to a substantial decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The Quality of Life Instrument for Chronic Diseases-Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (QLICD-GERD, V1.0) was developed to comprehensively assess the impact of GERD using both generic and disease-specific modules. This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties and item performance of the QLICD-GERD (V1.0) using both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT), in order to provide theoretical and empirical support for its further refinement.
methodsA total of 207 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were recruited from the Department of Gastroenterology of a tertiary hospital in Yunnan Province, China, between January 2022 and December 2024. A total of 207 patients with GERD from the Department of Gastroenterology of a tertiary hospital in Yunnan Province (January 2022-December 2024) were investigated using the self-administered QLICD-GERD (V1.0). CTT methods-including Cronbach's alpha, split-half reliability, standard deviation (SD) analysis, correlation analysis, and factor analysis-were applied to evaluate reliability and validity. IRT was used to estimate item discrimination (a), difficulty parameters (b1-b4), and average information (I), using the Samejima graded response model. SPSS 27.0, AMOS, and Multilog 7.03 were used for data analysis.
resultsIn CTT analysis, 42 out of 48 items met the criteria of at least three statistical methods and were rated as good, while six items were rated as poor. The overall Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.848, and the split-half reliability was 0.905, indicating satisfactory internal consistency. The KMO value was 0.755, with a cumulative variance contribution of 68.51%. The revised confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model achieved improved fit indices (χ²/df = 2.493, RMSEA = 0.084, GFI = 0.700, CFI = 0.691, TLI = 0.666, IFI = 0.697). Under IRT analysis, item discrimination ranged from 0.89 to 1.44, and most difficulty parameters increased monotonically with grade levels (B1→B4). Average information values ranged from 0.064 to 0.529: 9 items in the physical domain, 2 in social, 1 in spiritual, and 14 in the disease-specific domain were classified as poor, 20 good, and 2 excellent.
conclusionsThe QLICD-GERD (V1.0) demonstrates overall good psychometric properties, with strong reliability, validity, and discrimination. The psychological and social domains performed best, while several items in the physical and spiritual domains require refinement to improve measurement precision. The combination of CTT and IRT provides a comprehensive framework for optimizing the instrument's structure and enhancing its clinical applicability for assessing quality of life among GERD patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.