Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Health-Related Quality of Life questionnaire

Seyed Ali Ebrahimi; Zahra Mostafavian; Elahe Karazhian; Fereshteh Najafi; Rasam Mashoufi; Tooraj Zandbaf; Elham Mokhtari

doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2023-001298

Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Health-Related Quality of Life questionnaire

BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2024 Apr 4;11(1):e001298. doi: 10.1136/bmjgast-2023-001298.

Authors

Seyed Ali Ebrahimi¹, Zahra Mostafavian², Elahe Karazhian³, Fereshteh Najafi⁴, Rasam Mashoufi¹, Tooraj Zandbaf⁵, Elham Mokhtari⁶

Affiliations

¹ Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.
² Department of Community Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Department of General Surgery, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran emokhtaria@gmail.com.

Abstract

Objective: The Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Health-Related Quality of Life (GERD-HRQL) is one of the most widely used questionnaires for assessing typical gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) symptoms. It is simple, concise, and treatment responsive, yet it has not been validated in the Persian language. This study aimed to translate the GERD-HRQL questionnaire into Persian and assess its validity and reliability.

Design: In this cross-sectional validation study, a team of gastroenterologists, general surgeons, and professional translators conducted the forward-backward translation. A gastroenterologist interviewed 10 patients with GORD to insure understandability of the questionnaire. Fifty-four patients with GORD and 60 patients with gastrointestinal complaints other than GORD were enrolled using convenience sampling method. To assess concurrent validity, patients with GORD completed the Persian GERD-HRQL and the WHO Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaires. To assess discriminant validity, GERD-HRQL scores were compared between GORD and non-GORD patients. After 2 weeks, the patients with GORD completed the GERD-HRQL questionnaire again to assess test-retest reliability. The internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha.

Results: The mean age of the GORD participants was 36.90±10.44, and the majority were women (78%). All GERD-HRQL domains and total scores exhibited significant negative correlations with WHOQOL-BREF domains (ranging from -0.28 to -0.97). The GERD-HRQL scores were significantly different in GORD and non-GORD patients (p<0.001). Test and retest scores did not show any significant differences (p=0.49). Cronbach's alpha was 0.85.

Conclusion: The Persian GERD-HRQL questionnaire is valid and reliable and can effectively assess the GORD symptoms in Persian-speaking individuals.

Keywords: GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE; OESOPHAGEAL REFLUX; QUALITY OF LIFE.

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Gastroesophageal Reflux* / diagnosis
Humans
Language
Male
Quality of Life*
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires