title: Validation of the Japanese version of the Sarcoidosis Health Questionnaire: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been reported in patients with sarcoidosis, there is currently no sarcoidosis-specific questionnaire in Japan. The 29-item Sarcoidosis Health Questionnaire (SHQ), originally developed in the United States, is the only sarcoidosis-specific HRQOL questionnaire currently available. The primary aim of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the SHQ.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SHQ was translated into Japanese following the forward-backward procedure. The reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the SHQ were examined. One hundred twenty-two Japanese patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis were evaluated by the SHQ, the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form (SF-36), the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), chest radiography, an electrocardiogram, laboratory blood tests, pulmonary function tests, an echocardiogram, and assessments of dyspnea and depressive symptoms. The SHQ was found to have acceptable levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's coefficient α values = 0.68 to 0.91). SHQ scores correlated significantly with scores on the SF-36 and SGRQ. The domain or total scores on the SHQ also significantly correlated with serum levels of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor, the percentage of the predicted forced vital capacity, pulmonary arterial systolic pressure, dyspnea, and depressive symptoms. Also, the SHQ scores of patients who had one or two organ systems affected by sarcoidosis were significantly different from those of patients who had three or more organ systems involvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Japanese version of the SHQ can be used to assess the HRQOL of patients with sarcoidosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiminobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanizawa
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.forename: Sonoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oga
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Kizuku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Kensaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Michiaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mishima
authors.forename: Takateru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Izumi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000592:standards*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014177:Translations