Validity of a Self‐Administered Version of the Brief Index of Lupus Damage in a Predominantly African American Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Cohort. Issue 6 (June 2014) - Drenkard, C.
Abstract Objective To assess the reliability and criterion and construct validity of the self‐administered Brief Index of Lupus Damage (SA‐BILD), a patient‐reported measure of organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods The validity of the SA‐BILD was assessed using data from the Georgians Organized Against Lupus (GOAL) survey. GOAL is a longitudinal cohort of SLE patients predominantly derived from the Georgia Lupus Registry, a population‐based registry established in Atlanta, Georgia. In total, 711 participants with documented SLE completed the SA‐BILD. To test reliability, the SA‐BILD was readministered to 32 patients. Criterion validity was examined in 150 respondents for whom the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI) was also completed. Construct validity was assessed among 711 GOAL participants by dividing the SA‐BILD scores into quartiles and examining the association with demographics, health status, and health care utilization. Results The test–retest correlation score was 0.93 (P < 0.0001), the item‐by‐item agreement with the SDI was >80% for most SA‐BILD items, and the Spearman's rho correlation coefficient for the SDI and SA‐BILD was moderately high (ρ = 0.59, P < 0.0001). SA‐BILD scores showed significant associations in the expected directions with age, disease duration, disease activity, overall health, comorbidity index, and physician visits. Conclusion The SA‐BILD was reliable and had very good or good criterion validity compared with the SDI when tested in a predominantly African American cohort of US SLE patients. Associations of SA‐BILD scores with sociodemographics and health status were consistent with previous studies. These findings support the use of the SA‐BILD as a valid measure of patient‐reported damage in SLE.