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Euroquest: the validity of a new symptom questionnaire.
Neurotoxicology. 2000 Oct; 21(5):783-9.N

Abstract

The new questionnaire Euroquest was designed to study effects from exposure to organic solvents, and it covers the most commonly reported symptoms associated with long-term solvent exposure. Its convergence and criterion validity were evaluated by means of comparison with the two well-established generic symptom questionnaires Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30). Men with long-term exposure to organic solvents and symptoms common in toxic encephalopathy (TE) classified as TE type 2A (n=29) or 2B (n=28) according to their neuropsychological test performance, and a comparable group of non-exposed healthy referents (N=57), were included. The six Euroquest factors obtained by a factor analysis were labeled: 'emotional lability' 'cognitive disturbances' 'peripheral neurology' 'sleepiness' 'fatigue' and 'sleep disturbances'. These factors correlated well with most SCL-90 scales and with the GHQ-30 total score in the combined TE groups. The combined TE groups were correctly classified to a similar degree by the Euroquest factors 'cognitive disturbances' and 'peripheral neurology' (TE 82.5% and referents 93%) and the SCL-90 scales 'somatization, 'interpersonal sensitivity', 'obsessive-compulsive symptoms' and 'hostility' (TE 84.2% and referents 93.0%), but not as well by GHQ-30 (TE 61.4% and referents 79%). In comparison with the separate TE groups most referents, and a considerably higher percentage of 2B than 2A subjects, could be correctly classified with both Euroquest and SCL-90. With GHQ-30, only a few 2A cases and fewer than half of the 2B cases were correctly classified. In conclusion, the Euroquest factors converged with both SCL-90 scales and GHQ-30 score. With both the Euroquest and SCL-90 questionnaires a similar percentage of the TE subjects were discriminated from the referents, most conspicuously regarding TE 2B subjects, who had an objectified cognitive dysfunction. In a choice between Euroquest and SCL-90, the Euroquest may have the advantage of higher face validity, for TE subjects.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Karlson B
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Sweden. bjorn.karlson@ymed.lu.se
Osterberg K
No affiliation info available
Orbaek P
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Cognition DisordersEmotionsFatigueFollow-Up StudiesHealth StatusHepatic EncephalopathyHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsNeurotoxicity SyndromesOccupational DiseasesOccupational ExposurePeripheral Nervous System DiseasesReproducibility of ResultsSleep Wake DisordersSolventsSurveys and QuestionnairesSweden

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

11130283

Citation

Karlson, B, et al. "Euroquest: the Validity of a New Symptom Questionnaire." Neurotoxicology, vol. 21, no. 5, 2000, pp. 783-9.
Karlson B, Osterberg K, Orbaek P. Euroquest: the validity of a new symptom questionnaire. Neurotoxicology. 2000;21(5):783-9.
Karlson, B., Osterberg, K., & Orbaek, P. (2000). Euroquest: the validity of a new symptom questionnaire. Neurotoxicology, 21(5), 783-9.
Karlson B, Osterberg K, Orbaek P. Euroquest: the Validity of a New Symptom Questionnaire. Neurotoxicology. 2000;21(5):783-9. PubMed PMID: 11130283.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Euroquest: the validity of a new symptom questionnaire. AU - Karlson,B, AU - Osterberg,K, AU - Orbaek,P, PY - 2000/12/29/pubmed PY - 2001/3/7/medline PY - 2000/12/29/entrez SP - 783 EP - 9 JF - Neurotoxicology JO - Neurotoxicology VL - 21 IS - 5 N2 - The new questionnaire Euroquest was designed to study effects from exposure to organic solvents, and it covers the most commonly reported symptoms associated with long-term solvent exposure. Its convergence and criterion validity were evaluated by means of comparison with the two well-established generic symptom questionnaires Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30). Men with long-term exposure to organic solvents and symptoms common in toxic encephalopathy (TE) classified as TE type 2A (n=29) or 2B (n=28) according to their neuropsychological test performance, and a comparable group of non-exposed healthy referents (N=57), were included. The six Euroquest factors obtained by a factor analysis were labeled: 'emotional lability' 'cognitive disturbances' 'peripheral neurology' 'sleepiness' 'fatigue' and 'sleep disturbances'. These factors correlated well with most SCL-90 scales and with the GHQ-30 total score in the combined TE groups. The combined TE groups were correctly classified to a similar degree by the Euroquest factors 'cognitive disturbances' and 'peripheral neurology' (TE 82.5% and referents 93%) and the SCL-90 scales 'somatization, 'interpersonal sensitivity', 'obsessive-compulsive symptoms' and 'hostility' (TE 84.2% and referents 93.0%), but not as well by GHQ-30 (TE 61.4% and referents 79%). In comparison with the separate TE groups most referents, and a considerably higher percentage of 2B than 2A subjects, could be correctly classified with both Euroquest and SCL-90. With GHQ-30, only a few 2A cases and fewer than half of the 2B cases were correctly classified. In conclusion, the Euroquest factors converged with both SCL-90 scales and GHQ-30 score. With both the Euroquest and SCL-90 questionnaires a similar percentage of the TE subjects were discriminated from the referents, most conspicuously regarding TE 2B subjects, who had an objectified cognitive dysfunction. In a choice between Euroquest and SCL-90, the Euroquest may have the advantage of higher face validity, for TE subjects. SN - 0161-813X UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/11130283/Euroquest:_the_validity_of_a_new_symptom_questionnaire_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -