Development of a health-related questionnaire for quality-of-life assessment in dogs with chronic enteropathy

BACKGROUND: Chronic enteropathies (CEs) in dogs substantially impact the quality of life (QoL) for both patients and owners. Existing clinical indices do not capture the broader burden of disease, and no validated health-related QoL (HRQoL) tool exists for CE. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Develop and validate a psychometrically sound HRQoL questionnaire for dogs with CE. ANIMALS: A total of 351 client-owned dogs: 141 with CE, 126 healthy, and 84 with other chronic diseases (OCD), based on owner classification. METHODS: A multi-phase psychometric study was conducted to create and validate the instrument. Items were generated from literature and expert input, refined using cognitive debriefing and statistical filtering, and tested for internal consistency, construct validity, and discriminative validity. The HRQoL scores were compared among groups and analyzed for demographic factors. RESULTS: The final Canine Chronic Enteropathy QoL (CCEQoL) questionnaire included 33 items. Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.91). The median total score (TS) was higher in CE dogs (129; interquartile range [IQR], 73.5-181.5) than in OCD dogs (62; IQR, 31.3-105.4) and healthy dogs (15.3, IQR, 6-34; P < .001). The total score was inversely correlated with owner-rated overall QoL (ρ = -0.61; P < .001). In CE dogs, the TS was weakly and inversely correlated with age but was not significantly associated with breed size, comorbidities, or country of residence. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The CCEQoL is the first validated HRQoL tool for dogs with CE. It provides a structured, multidimensional assessment of disease burden and may enhance patient-centered care, owner-veterinarian communication, and clinical research.