Validation of the japanese version of the sarcoidosis health questionnaire: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Although impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been reported in patients with sarcoidosis, there is currently no sarcoidosis-specific questionnaire in Japan. The 29-item Sarcoidosis Health Questionnaire (SHQ), originally developed in the United States, is the only sarcoidosis-specific HRQOL questionnaire currently available. The primary aim of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the SHQ. FINDINGS The SHQ was translated into Japanese following the forward-backward procedure. The reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the SHQ were examined. One hundred twenty-two Japanese patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis were evaluated by the SHQ, the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form (SF-36), the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), chest radiography, an electrocardiogram, laboratory blood tests, pulmonary function tests, an echocardiogram, and assessments of dyspnea and depressive symptoms. The SHQ was found to have acceptable levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's coefficient α values = 0.68 to 0.91). SHQ scores correlated significantly with scores on the SF-36 and SGRQ. The domain or total scores on the SHQ also significantly correlated with serum levels of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor, the percentage of the predicted forced vital capacity, pulmonary arterial systolic pressure, dyspnea, and depressive symptoms. Also, the SHQ scores of patients who had one or two organ systems affected by sarcoidosis were significantly different from those of patients who had three or more organ systems involvement. CONCLUSIONS The Japanese version of the SHQ can be used to assess the HRQOL of patients with sarcoidosis.