The Orthostatic Hypotension Questionnaire in Swedish tested in patients with parkinsonism

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is common among older people and in particular in conditions like Parkinson's disease (PD). The OH Questionnaire (OHQ) has been proposed as a useful patient-reported assessment tool consisting of the OH Symptom Assessment (OHSA), OH Daily Activity Scale (OHDAS), and a composite score.

To translate the OHQ into Swedish and assess its psychometric properties.

Following forward-backward translation, the Swedish OHQ was field-tested (n = 6) for relevance, comprehensibility, and respondent burden. It was then tested regarding scaling assumptions, targeting, reliability, and construct validity in persons with PD (n = 27) and multiple system atrophy (n = 2).

The Swedish OHQ was considered relevant and easy to use, with a mean completion time of 5.3 min. Scaling assumptions were acceptable for OHSA and OHDAS (corrected item-total correlations, .30-.67) but not for the total score (.12-.69). Floor/ceiling effects were ≤3.4% and reliability was >.64. Construct validity was supported by expected correlations with the SCOPA-AUT, RAND-36, and blood pressure measurements.

The Swedish OHQ was well received, and psychometric results suggest that the OHQ (particularly the OHDAS) is a useful tool for OH assessment in parkinsonian disorders. Further testing in larger samples is needed.