Translation and validation of restless leg syndrome quality of life questionnaire in Hindi language.

BACKGROUND

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) itself as well as the problems that are secondary to RLS may worsen the quality of life.

AIM

The aim of this study is to translate and validate the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLS-QOL) questionnaire in Hindi language.

SETTINGS AND DESIGNS

Patients attending psychiatry OPD and sleep clinic in a tertiary care teaching hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty four consecutive patients of RLS and twenty nine control subjects were included in the study. Permission for translation and validation of RLS-QOL questionnaire scale was obtained. Translation was done according to the guidelines provided by the publisher. After translation, the final version of the scale was applied in both the groups to find the reliability and validity.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

SPSS, version 17.0 was used for the analysis. Independent sample t test was used to compare age. Chi-square test was applied to compare non-parametric variables. Pearson's and Spearman's correlations were used to find out the correlation between parametric and non-parametric items, respectively. Reliability analysis was done by using Cronbach's alpha.

RESULTS

Among the RLS subjects, mean Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score, International Restless Legs Syndrome Severity Rating Scale (IRLS) score and Computed Score of RLS-QOL questionnaire were 25.43 (7.39), 12.7 (8.34) and 29.8 (8.39), respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed between both the groups on all these scores (ISI: t= -11.2, P<0.001, 95% CI= -22.62 to -15.76; IRLS: t = -8.1, P< 0.001, 95% CI =-15.81 to -9.58; RLS-QOL: t =-19.07, P<0.001 with 95% CI = -32.69,- 28.83). A significant correlation between ISI and RLS-QOL (r² = 0.59; P< 0.001) was seen. Most of the items also showed good correlation with each other. Internal consistency done by Cronbach's alpha showed good correlation (0.85).

CONCLUSION

Hindi version of the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLS-QOL) questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of the quality of life in patients with RLS.