The validation of a new comprehensive headache-specific quality of life questionnaire

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Measuring quality of life (QOL) is an important means of assessing the impact of headache. The currently used QOL questionnaires are usually geared toward migraine and focus on a limited number of factors, thus they are not necessarily informative in other headache types. We report the psychometric properties of a new questionnaire, the Comprehensive Headache-related Quality of life Questionnaire (CHQQ) that may be more sensitive to the burden of headache. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 202 patients suffering from migraine (n = 168) or tension-type headache (TTH) (n = 34) completed the CHQQ and SF-36, a generic QOL questionnaire. We assessed the reliability and validity of the CHQQ and its physical, mental and social dimensions. RESULTS: The questionnaire was easy to administer. Reliability was excellent with Cronbach's alpha being 0.913 for the whole instrument (0.814-0.832 for its dimensions). The dimensions and total score showed significant correlations with the patients' headache characteristics (criterion validity), and were also significantly correlated with the SF-36 domains (convergent validity). The total score and dimensions were significantly (p < 0.005) lower in the migraine group than in the TTH group (discriminative validity). CONCLUSION: In this study the new headache-specific QOL instrument showed adequate psychometric properties.