MIDAS and HIT-6 French translation: reliability and correlation between tests

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Outcomes Research

Background:

• The Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) and Headache Impact Test (HIT)-6 are crucial tools for assessing migraine-related functional disability in clinical settings.
• The French translations of MIDAS and HIT-6 are widely used but lack established test-retest reliability data.
• Understanding the reliability and correlation of these instruments is vital for accurate patient assessment and treatment evaluation in French-speaking populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the test-retest reliability of the French versions of the MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires for both episodic and chronic headaches.
• To assess the correlation between the MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires in patients with episodic and chronic headaches.
• To determine if the reliability and correlation differ between episodic and chronic headache patient groups.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 143 patients (75 episodic, 68 chronic headaches) from a specialized headache clinic.
• Patients completed the French MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires twice, with the second completion mailed 19-21 days after the first.
• Intraclass correlation coefficients (Shrout-Fleiss) and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess reliability and correlation, respectively.

Main Results:

• Test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation) was moderate for MIDAS (0.76) and HIT-6 (0.77) in episodic headaches, and substantial for MIDAS (0.83) and HIT-6 (0.80) in chronic headaches.
• Pearson correlation coefficients between MIDAS and HIT-6 were 0.48 (episodic) and 0.58 (chronic) at the first assessment, and 0.42 (episodic) and 0.59 (chronic) at the second.
• The correlation between the two questionnaires was weak for episodic headaches but approached a 'good' level for chronic headaches.

Conclusions:

• The French versions of the MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires demonstrate acceptable to substantial test-retest reliability for both episodic and chronic headaches.
• The findings suggest that while both questionnaires are reliable, their interchangeable use may be more appropriate for chronic headache patients due to stronger correlation.
• These validated French versions can be reliably used in clinical practice and research for assessing headache-related disability in French-speaking populations.