Development and validation of the Polish version of the Urogenital Distress Inventory short form and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire short form.

OBJECTIVE

The Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ) measures the impact of urinary incontinence on activities, roles, and emotional states of women, whereas the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI) measures how troubling the symptoms are. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the effectiveness of a Polish version of the IIQ and UDI.

STUDY DESIGN

The translation into Polish followed standardized procedures. 206 women aged between 31 and 83 years were included into the study. All patients were recruited from women attending the Outpatient Clinic of the 2nd Gynecology Department of the Medical University in Lublin. SUI was observed in 116 cases; OAB in 16 patients and 24 had MUI (confirmed by medical history, bladder diary and urodynamic investigation). 50 healthy women served as control. All patients completed the Polish version of the ICIQ - 'the gold standard' in UI diagnosis - as well as the newly translated Polish versions of the UDI-6 and IIQ-7 questionnaires at baseline. Moreover, 116 women repeated the UDI-6 and IIQ-7 self-assessment again 7days later.

RESULTS

The internal consistency was tested by calculating Cronbach's alpha, using baseline scores. The high reliability of the scale indicates a value greater than 0.7. The reliability was calculated by way of the Intraclass Correlation (ICC) and was considered acceptable when ICC was≥0.7. In fact, ICC in all investigated groups was >0.95. The Cronbach's alpha values were as follows: for SUI patients - 0.74; for OAB - 0.78; and for MUI - 0.28 (the UDI-6 total score for the whole study group was 0.72). Cronbach's alpha total score for IIQ-7-0.89 (SUI group - 0.89; OAB group - 0.93; and MUI group - 0.77). Finally, the Cronbach's alpha total score for the ICIQ Questionnaire was 0.73 (SUI group - 0.71; OAB group - 0.65 and MUI group - 0.81).

CONCLUSIONS

The Polish versions of the UDI-6 and IIQ-7 Questionnaires are reliable, valid, and responsive instruments for assessing the severity of symptoms and quality of life in females suffering from urinary incontinence.