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Equine veterinary journal2025; doi: 10.1111/evj.14513

Development of a health-related quality-of-life assessment tool for equines with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction.

Abstract: Clinical signs of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) are frequently mistaken for 'normal' ageing and may not be optimally assessed. Objective quality of life (QoL) assessment could improve clinical decision-making. Objective: To develop an owner-reported health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) assessment tool for equines with PPID. To assess factors associated with HRQoL scores. Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional study. Methods: HRQoL tool development followed a standard psychometric process of item (any aspect of PPID and its management that could impact QoL) identification (following interviews with veterinarians, owners and clinical record reviews), selection (online owner questionnaire) and refinement (statistical analyses; chi-squared and Cronbach's alpha). General Linear Models were used to identify factors associated with HRQoL scores. Results: Forty-two items associated with PPID were identified. Thirty-seven items were selected for the online questionnaire. In total, 612 complete responses (n = 343 PPID and n = 269 non-PPID horses) were obtained. Through stepwise statistical item refinement, 24 items remained in the final HRQoL tool (overall Cronbach's α = 0.835). HRQoL scores ranged from 0 (best) to 1 (worst) QoL. Median (interquartile range) HRQoL scores were 0.33 (0.22-0.44) and 0.20 (0.14-0.27) for PPID and non-PPID horses respectively. HRQoL scores for all horses were worse if they had PPID (p < 0.001) or other chronic medical conditions and were older (p < 0.015). For PPID horses specifically, HRQoL scores were also worse if they had other chronic medical conditions (p = 0.02), but HRQoL scores were not associated with current PPID treatment (treated vs. untreated horses with a PPID diagnosis), bodyweight, age, breed, sex or years since diagnosis. Conclusions: Limited numbers of untreated PPID horses. Conclusions: The HRQoL tool is valid and reliable for use in horses with PPID and can be applied in further research. PPID horses with another chronic disease had worse HRQoL scores, which should be considered in other studies evaluating disease impact.
© 2025 The Author(s). Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2025-05-02 PubMed ID: 40314080DOI: 10.1111/evj.14513Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research is about the development of an assessment tool that assesses the quality of life in horses diagnosed with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). The tool was developed through a standardized data collection process and statistical analysis. It was found to be reliable and valid.

Objective and Methods

The research’s primary objective was to develop an assessment tool to determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in horses suffering from PPID. This tool’s aim is to enhance clinical decisions since PPID symptoms are often mistaken for normal aging. The study used quantitative and cross-sectional methods.

The tool development followed a standard psychometric process.

  • Item Identification – At this stage, each aspect of PPID and its management that could impact HRQoL was identified through interviews with veterinarians, owners, and clinical record reviews.
  • Selection – An online questionnaire was used to select 37 out of 42 identified items.
  • Refinement – The statistical analysis was carried out using chi-squared and Cronbach’s alpha. General Linear Models were further used to identify the factors associated with HRQoL scores.

Results

The completion of the online questionnaire resulted in 612 responses, 343 for PPID and 269 for non-PPID horses. As per the statistical item refinement, 24 items remained in the final HRQoL tool.

The HRQoL scores ranged from 0, representing the best quality of life, to 1, the worst. The median HRQoL scores were 0.33 for PPID horses and 0.20 for non-PPID horses. The HRQoL scores were worse for all horses if they had PPID, were older, or had other chronic medical conditions. However, the scores for PPID horses were not influenced by the current PPID treatment, bodyweight, age, breed, sex, or years since diagnosis.

Conclusion

The number of untreated PPID horses was limited in this study. Nonetheless, the developed HRQoL tool proved to be valid and reliable for use in horses with PPID. The study also discovered that PPID horses with another chronic disease had worse HRQoL scores. This finding recommends considering these results in other studies evaluating disease impact. The tool can be applied in further research.

Cite This Article

APA
Bouquet A, Nicol C, Knowles EJ, Schofield I, Menzies-Gow NJ. (2025). Development of a health-related quality-of-life assessment tool for equines with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. Equine Vet J. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14513

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English

Researcher Affiliations

Bouquet, Aline
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services, The Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, UK.
Nicol, Christine
  • Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, UK.
Knowles, Edward J
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services, The Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, UK.
  • Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic, Kent, UK.
Schofield, Imogen
  • CVS Group plc, Norfolk, UK.
Menzies-Gow, Nicola J
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services, The Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, UK.

Grant Funding

  • CVS Group plc

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