Reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the brief version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders

Abstract

BackgroundAn accessible self‐assessment questionnaire is needed to evaluate quality of life in olfactory dysfunction. The need to address this gap led to the development of the brief version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (brief QOD), which holds particular value in the context of telemedicine.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Arabic brief QOD.MethodsThis study included 307 patients suffering from olfactory dysfunction as well as a control group filled a questionnaire including demographic information, the olfaction Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Sino‐nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT‐22) questionnaire, and the Arabic version of the brief QOD. The Arabic brief QOD's reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α to measure internal consistency. To evaluate test–retest reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was employed. The discriminative ability: score differences between the two groups were analyzed. The validity Arabic brief QOD was evaluated by comparing it to the olfaction VAS.ResultsThe Cronbach's α coefficients were 0.757 for Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders‐Parosmia (QOD‐P), 0.832 Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders‐quality of life (QOD‐QoL), and 0.817 Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders‐visual analog scale (QOD‐VAS). The reliability of the overall brief QOD was 0.93. The ICC exceeded the acceptable threshold of 0.7, indicating strong test–retest reliability. The highest correlation was observed between the SNOT‐22 and QOD total scores (r = 0.552 and p < .001) as well as between SNOT‐22 and QOD VAS (r = 0.512 and p < .001).ConclusionExcellent validity and reliability have been shown for the Arabic brief QOD as a self‐assessment tool assessing quality of life among olfactory dysfunction patients.Level of evidenceNA.