Validation of Russian version of AQ20 quality of life questionnaires in asthma patients

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate a Russian version of short and simple AQ20 Quality of Life Questionnaire. The AQ20 Russian version was compared with the general questionnaire SF-36, the specific E.Juniper’s Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) and FEVi and PEFR measurements. Fifty nine asthmatic patients (including 38 females) of average age 37.5 years (from 16 to 66 years) were studied; among them 20 patients were studied before and after 3-month treatment with nedocromil sodium 8 mg daily. Their mean FEV₁ was 73.3±27.6 (SD) (% pred.). Spirometry and questionnaire data were collected in a single session by a single researcher. All the patients were divided into three groups: with mild (n=20), moderate (n=28) and severe (n=11) bronchial asthma. The mean data of all the measurements in these groups and correlation (r) with AQ20 questionnaire data were calculated. The AQ20 questionnaire correlated closely with the AQLQ and total score components. Inspection of the correlation showed that AQ20 scores correlated quite closely with all the points of the AQLQ questionnaire (r=-0.52—0.64, p<0.001) and with six scales of the SF-36 questionnaire: PF (r=0.62), RF (r=-0.38), GH (r=-0.44), VT (r=-0.38), RE (r=-0.45), MH (r=0.40). The truthful moderate correlation of the AQ20 questionnaire and FEV₁ (r=-0.35) and PEFR (r=-0.42) was found out. The AQ20 questionnaire also revealed clearly the improvement in quality of life under the treatment condition.
Thus, AQ20 questionnaire correlates well with the known SF-36 and AQLQ questionnaires, gives a chance to reveal treatment effects and is applicable for assessing quality of life in asthmatic patients. We suppose that the Russian version of AQ20 questionnaire is a reliable tool for evaluation quality of life in asthma.