Performance of Arabic version short form-12 in the assessment of osteoarthritis patients’ quality of life

Objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease affecting the subchondral bone and the joint cartilage. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Arabic short form-12 (SF-12) questionnaire for OA patients’ quality of life (QoL) and explore its association with self-reported disability and disease characteristics. Methods: This study, conducted at the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, included 95 OA patients. The validity of the SF-12-Arabic scale was evaluated by comparing it to the validated Arabic version of the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Osteoarthritis Quality of Life (OAQoL) questionnaire, and the test-retest reliability was assessed. Results: Cronbach’s alpha for the total SF-12 value was 0.802, representing good internal consistency. The pattern of correlation between the SF-12, WOMAC, OAQoL, and visual analog scale (VAS) supported the construct validity, as there was a significant negative correlation between the SF-12 total score and each of the WOMAC pain, WOMAC stiffness, WOMAC functional, WOMAC total, OAQoL, and VAS score. Conclusion: The Arabic SF-12 questionnaire has good reliability and convergent validity but poor discriminant validity. It is a valid and reliable tool for assessing QoL in Arab patients with OA.