Validation of the French version of the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the functional disability tool Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ), a variant of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).


METHODS
The disability index is the mean of the scores on the eight domains of the CHAQ and can range from 0 (no disability) to 3 (maximum disability). The CHAQ was first translated into French and adapted, then validated in a multicenter cross-sectional study in 306 children with JIA (systemic onset, 23%; polyarticular onset, 22%; extended oligoarticular subtype, 25%; and persistent oligoarticular subtype, 30%).


RESULTS
Overall CHAQ scores discriminated between the four JIA subtypes (systemic: 1.1 +/- 0.9; polyarticular: 0.8 +/- 0.7, extended oligoarticular 0.8 +/- 0.7, and persistent oligoarticular: 0.4 +/- 0.5 [P < 0.0001]). Reproducibility evaluated by test-retest at a 7-day interval was excellent (intraclass coefficient, 0.91), as was agreement between the Parent's and Children's versions of the questionnaire (intraclass coefficient, 0.89). Significant correlations were found between the overall CHAO score and variables reflecting disease severity (joint counts, physician's and parent's global assessments, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate), indicating excellent convergent validity of the tool.


CONCLUSIONS
The French version of the CHAQ displays good psychometric characteristics, although its sensitivity to change remains to be established. The French version of the CHAO should prove useful in international studies and can be expected to be helpful for monitoring individual patients with JIA.
Pouchot
Jacques
J
Internal Medicine Department, Médecine Interne, Hĵpital Louis Mourier, 178, rue des Renoullers, Colombes, France. jacques.pouchot@lmr.ap-hop-paris.fr
Larbre
Jean-Paul
JP
Lemelle
Irène
I
Sommelet
Danièle
D
Grouteau
Eric
E
David
Louis
L
Duquesne
Agnès
A
Deslandre
Chantal Job
CJ
Koné Paut
Isabelle
I
Pillet
Pascal
P
Goumy
Laurence
L
Barbier
Catherine
C
Guyot
Marie-Hélène
MH
Mazingue
Françoise
F
Laloum
Sylvie Gandon
SG
Fischbac
Michel
M
Quartier
Pierre
P
Guyot
Claude
C
Jean
Sylvie
S
Legall
Edouard
E
Plouvier
Emmanuel
E
Bost
Michel
M
de Lumley
Lionel
L
Brégeon
Christian
C
Guillemin
Francis
F
Coste
Joël
J
Prieur
Anne-Marie
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating