%I BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP %P 683-694 %L discovery10129787 %K health-related quality of life, questionnaire, bronchiectasis, systematic literature review, meta-analysis %V 71 %N 8 %J Thorax %X Background: A range of questionnaires have been used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in bronchiectasis. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate their psychometric properties and assess associations between HRQOL and clinical measures. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched. Studies eligible for inclusion were those that investigated the validity of HRQOL questionnaires and/or their association with other outcomes in adults with bronchiectasis. Patients with cystic fibrosis were excluded. The identified questionnaires were assessed for convergent, discriminant and cross-cultural translation validity; missing data, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency, responsiveness and test-retest reliability. A meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the strength of associations between HRQOL and clinical measures. Results: From 1918 studies identified, 43 studies were included in the systematic review, of which 38 were suitable for the meta-analysis. Nine HRQOL questionnaires were identified, with the most widely used being: St George's Respiratory Questionnaire, Leicester Cough Questionnaire, Quality of Life–Bronchiectasis and Short Form-36. HRQOL questionnaires had moderate to good internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Only 8 of 18 studies that used translated HRQOL questionnaires reported or referred to the validity of the translated questionnaire. There was a stronger correlation (mean r (95% CI)) between HRQOL and subjective outcome measures, such as dyspnoea (0.55 (0.41 to 0.68)) and fatigue (0.42 (0.23 to 0.58)) compared with objective measures; exercise capacity (−0.41 (−0.54 to −0.24)), FEV1% predicted (−0.31 (−0.40 to −0.23)) and extent of bronchiectasis on CT scan (0.35 (0.03 to 0.61)); all p<0.001. Conclusions: This review supports most HRQOL questionnaires used in bronchiectasis have good psychometric properties. There was a weak to moderate association between HRQOL and objective outcome measures. This suggests that HRQOL questionnaires assess a unique aspect of health not captured by objective measures. %A A Spinou %A KC Fragkos %A KK Lee %A C Elston %A RJ Siegert %A MR Loebinger %A R Wilson %A R Garrod %A SS Birring %O This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. %D 2016 %T The validity of health-related quality of life questionnaires in bronchiectasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis