Validation of the Korean Version of the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire

The Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ) is a simple and repeatable, self-reporting health status questionnaire for bronchiectasis. We have translated the original version of the BHQ into Korean using a standardized methodology. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the Korean version of the BHQ (K-BHQ) with Korean patients.

Stable state patients with bronchiectasis from two academic hospitals were enrolled in this study. The validity was assessed by investigating the relationship between the K-BHQ scores and the Korean version of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test (K-CAT) scores. We also investigated the relationship between the K-BHQ scores and other variables of the modified Medical Research Council's (mMRC) dyspnea scale, lung function, and exacerbations.

A total of 126 patients with bronchiectasis were enrolled. The mean age was 64.3 (standard deviation [SD], 9.7). Women comprised 53.2% of the patients. The mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was 60% of the predicted value (SD, 18.9%); the mean K-CAT score was 17.6 (SD, 9.1). The K-BHQ scores correlated strongly with the K-CAT scores (r=-0.656, p<0.001). There was significant correlation between the K-BHQ scores and the mMRC dyspnea scale (ρ=-0.409, p<0.001), FEV1 (r=0.406, p<0.001), and number of exacerbations requiring hospitalization (ρ=-0.303, p=0.001).

The K-BHQ is valid for assessing the health-related quality of life or health status of Korean bronchiectasis patients.