Reliability and validity of the Taiwan (Mandarin Chinese) version of the chronic respiratory questionnaire

The chronic respiratory disease questionnaire (CRQ) has been validated and proved useful in assessing therapies for pulmonary diseases. We translated the CRQ into a Taiwan (Mandarin Chinese) version and surveyed its validity and reliability. The CRQ includes 20 items divided into four domains: dyspnea, fatigue, emotional function, and mastery. We followed a forward-back translation procedure to create the Taiwan version. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Participants underwent tests including the CRQ, the medical outcomes study short form (SF-36), the St. George respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), lung function tests (LFTs), and a graded exercise test (GET). We used Cronbach’s alpha to evaluate the internal consistency of the CRQ, intraclass coefficient for test–retest reliability, and Spearman’s correlation for validity. Thirty-six men and 4 women (mean age 67.9 ± 9.9 years) were recruited. Evidence of good internal consistency, test–retest reliability, convergent, discriminant, concurrent, and construct validity of the CRQ was shown. Spearman’s correlation showed moderate-to-strong correlation between the CRQ scores and scores of the SGRQ, subscales of the SF-36, and the results of LFTs and GET. The Taiwan version of the CRQ shows good validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability.