title: Validity and reliability of VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire in chronic venous disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to translate the VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire into Turkish, which is used mainly in Western European countries, and to study its reliability and validity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Standard "forward-backward" translation method was used to translate the questionnaire. The internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's α, test-retest reliability was assessed with the intraclass correlation and Spearman-Brown coefficients. Validity was examined by correlation of VEINES-QOL/Sym with SF-36, Venous Clinical Severity (VCSS), and Venous Disability Scores (VDS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 100 patients included (mean age 41.9 ± 12.5 years; 32% male, 68% female), 30 were given the questionnaire twice with 24-hour intervals for test-retest; a final completion rate of 99.2% was achieved. The Cronbach's α was 0.914. The Spearman-Brown coefficients and the intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.994, 0.988 and 0.966, 0.933 for VQOL and VSym scores, respectively. For the total quality of life and for several domains the correlations between VEINES-QOL/Sym and SF-36 were high, and significant. Inverse and significant correlations were observed with VCSS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conclusively, the Turkish version of VEINSES-QOL/Sym questionnaire is reliable and valid; thus, it is highly recommended to use Turkish version of VEINSES-QOL/Sym to evaluate the quality of life and symptoms of patients with venous insufficiency in Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center, Istanbul, Turkey. aktuygun@gmail.com
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Tuygun
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ketenci
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Günay
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Görür
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Güney
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biçer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuygun
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ozay
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cimen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demirtaş
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yekeler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014177:Translations; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014689:Venous Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult