Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire for COPD

Background and Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease that causes ۶% of deaths, ۹۰% of which occur in low- and middle-income countries. Improving these patients' quality of life (QOL) is one of the primary treatment goals. The St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) is used to measure the health status of patients with respiratory problems. This research aimed to assess the health status of patients with COPD after validating the Persian version of this questionnaire. Materials and Methods: The study was performed from Feb to Oct ۲۰۱۶ in Shiraz, Iran. First, the Persian version of the questionnaire was validated using a back-translation technique by two translators, supervised by two researchers, and finally approved by two pulmonologists. The test-retest method was used to investigate the questionnaire's reliability. The questionnaire was used to assess the health status of ۱۵۸ COPD patients with FEV۱/FVC ratio≤ ۰.۷ or FEV۱<۸۰%, without exacerbation, cardiac disease, or recent hospitalization. Results: The reliabilities of the first part (questions ۱-۷) and second part (questions ۸-۱۴) of the questionnaire was ۰.۶۴ and ۰.۹۰, respectively. The current health was good, fair, poor, and very poor in ۷.۶%, ۲۲.۲%, ۴۴.۹%, ۲۲.۸%, and ۲.۵% of the patients, respectively. The mean± standard deviation (SD) scores calculated for symptoms, activity, and impact were ۵۴.۲۱۶±۲۳.۷۲۵, ۴۱.۴۷۷±۲۴.۹۹۶, and ۳۷.۴۸۲±۲۶.۳۹۰, and the total score was ۱۳۳.۱۷۶±۶۹.۲۸۴. Conclusion: The Persian version of the SGRQ-C was valid and reliable. The patients with COPD at our center had a good health status.

Keywords:

Pulmonary Disease , Chronic Obstructive , Quality of Life , St. George Respiratory Questionnaire