Kondo Masaki, Kiyomizu Kensuke, Goto Fumiyuki, Kitahara Tadashi, Imai Takao, Hashimoto Makoto, Shimogori Hiroaki, Ikezono Tetsuo, Nakayama Meiho, Watanabe Norio, Akechi Tatsuo
Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Department of Psychiatry, Yoshida Hospital, Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan.
Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2015 Jan 22;13:4. doi: 10.1186/s12955-015-0207-7.
Dizziness or vertigo is associated with both vestibular-balance and psychological factors. A common assessment tool is the Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS) -short form, which has two subscales: vestibular-balance and autonomic-anxiety. Despite frequent use, the factor structure of the VSS-short form has yet to be confirmed. Here, we clarified the factor structure of the VSS-short form, and assessed the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of this tool.
We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter, psychometric evaluation of patients with non-central dizziness or vertigo persisting for longer than 1 month. Participants completed the VSS-short form, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. They also completed the VSS-short form a second time 1-3 days later. The questionnaire was translated into Japanese and cross-culturally adapted. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis followed by an exploratory factor analysis. Convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were evaluated.
The total sample and retest sample consisted of 159 and 79 participants, respectively. Model-fitting for a two-subscale structure in a confirmatory factor analysis was poor. An exploratory factor analysis produced a three-factor structure: long-duration vestibular-balance symptoms, short-duration vestibular-balance symptoms, and autonomic-anxiety symptoms. Regarding convergent and discriminant validity, all hypotheses were clearly supported. We obtained high Cronbach's α coefficients for the total score and subscales, ranging from 0.758 to 0.866. Total score and subscale interclass correlation coefficients for test-retest reliability were acceptable, ranging from 0.867 to 0.897.
The VSS-short form has a three-factor structure that was cross-culturally well-matched with previous data from the VSS-long version. Thus, it was suggested that vestibular-balance symptoms can be analyzed separately according to symptom duration, which may reflect pathophysiological factors. The VSS-short form can be used to evaluate vestibular-balance symptoms and autonomic-anxiety symptoms, as well as the duration of vestibular-balance symptoms. Further research using the VSS-short form should be required in other languages and populations.
头晕或眩晕与前庭平衡和心理因素均有关联。一种常用的评估工具是简易眩晕症状量表（VSS），它有两个子量表：前庭平衡和自主神经焦虑。尽管该量表被频繁使用，但其简易版的因子结构尚未得到证实。在此，我们明确了简易VSS的因子结构，并评估了该工具日文版的有效性和可靠性。
我们对持续非中枢性头晕或眩晕超过1个月的患者进行了一项横断面、多中心的心理测量学评估。参与者完成了简易VSS、头晕残障量表和医院焦虑抑郁量表。他们还在1 - 3天后再次完成简易VSS。问卷被翻译成日文并进行了跨文化调适。我们先进行了验证性因子分析，随后进行探索性因子分析。评估了收敛效度、区分效度、内部一致性和重测信度。
总样本和重测样本分别由159名和79名参与者组成。验证性因子分析中两子量表结构的模型拟合不佳。探索性因子分析产生了一个三因子结构：长时间前庭平衡症状、短时间前庭平衡症状和自主神经焦虑症状。关于收敛效度和区分效度，所有假设均得到明确支持。我们获得了总分和各子量表较高的克朗巴哈α系数，范围从0.758至0.866。总分和子量表重测信度的组内相关系数是可接受的，范围从0.867至0.897。
简易VSS具有三因子结构，在跨文化方面与VSS长版先前的数据匹配良好。因此，提示前庭平衡症状可根据症状持续时间进行分别分析，这可能反映病理生理因素。简易VSS可用于评估前庭平衡症状、自主神经焦虑症状以及前庭平衡症状的持续时间。在其他语言和人群中应进一步开展使用简易VSS的研究。
