An outcome measure of functionality and quality of life in patients with cervical myelopathy

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a common cause of significant clinical morbidity. The Japanese Orthopedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) is a measure of health-related quality of life in these patients.

This study aimed to cross-culturally translate and validate the JOACMEQ in Iran.

This study was a prospective clinical validation one. Forward-backward procedure was applied to translate the questionnaire from English into Persian. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed in accordance with the published guidelines. A sample of patients with CSM was asked to respond to the questionnaire at two times: providing preoperative and postoperative assessments (6 months follow-up). To test the reliability, the internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach α coefficient and the validity was assessed by convergent validity. Responsiveness to change was also assessed comparing patients' preoperative and postoperative scores.

All 87 patients completed the questionnaire. The Cronbach α coefficient for the JOACMEQ at preoperative and postoperative assessments ranged from 0.71 to 0.82 indicating a good internal consistency for the questionnaire. In addition, the correlation of each item with its hypothesized subscale of the JOACMEQ showed satisfactory results suggesting that the items had a substantial association with their own subscales. Further analysis also indicated that the questionnaire was responsive to change (P < 0.001).

In general, the findings suggest that the Persian version of the JOACMEQ is a reliable and valid measure of functionality and quality of life evaluation among Iranian patients suffered from CSM.