Validation of a hindi translation of mini asthma quality of life questionnaire in North Indian patients with bronchial asthma.

ABSTRACT

Background and Objective. There is little information on validated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments for use in Indian patients with bronchial asthma. We attempted to validate the Hindi translation of Juniper’s mini asthma quality of life questionnaire (MiniAQLQ) in north Indian patients with bronchial asthma. Methods. Hindi translation of MiniAQLQ, and abbreviated World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref), were administered to 30 patients with bronchial asthma twice at a six-week interval. Clinical and physiological data were also recorded. Psychometric properties (acceptability, validity, reliability and responsiveness) of MiniAQLQ were assessed after calculating four domain (physical, psychological, social relationships and environment), and a total score. Results. Most questionnaires were returned without missing responses. MiniAQLQ had good convergent and discriminant validity, but moderate content and construct validity. All components (except emotional function domain) met standards for internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient >0.70), but intra-class correlation coefficients were variable. Change in MiniAQLQ scores between two assessments correlated poorly with corresponding changes in lung function. The effect sizes ranged from 0.02 to 0.34 in 11 patients whose forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) changed by >200mL and >12% from baseline, and were considered small. Conclusion. The Hindi translation of MiniAQLQ is a moderately good discriminative and a relatively poor evaluative instrument to assess health related quality of life (HRQoL) in north Indian patients with bronchial asthma.