Validation of a comorbidity questionnaire in patients with neurological disorders

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Health Outcomes Research
• Quality of Life Measurement

Background:

• The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is widely used for assessing comorbidities in neurological disorders but has limitations.
• Existing tools may not fully capture the spectrum of comorbidities impacting neurological patients' health-related quality of life (HR-QOL).
• The Comorbidity and General Health Questionnaire (CGHQ) is a novel tool designed to include additional relevant comorbidities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and validity of the CGHQ in patients with neurological conditions.
• To compare the CGHQ's performance against the established CCI and its correlation with patient-reported outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 200 patients from a general neurology clinic participated.
• Participants completed the CGHQ and the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire.
• Assessors simultaneously completed the CCI, and data were analyzed for correlations.

Main Results:

• The CGHQ identified 22 more comorbidities than the CCI.
• CGHQ scores showed moderate correlation with CCI scores.
• The CGHQ demonstrated stronger negative correlations with HR-QOL measures (EQ-5D-5L) and positive correlations with symptom burden compared to the CCI.

Conclusions:

• The CGHQ provides a more comprehensive comorbidity assessment in neurological patients compared to the CCI.
• The CGHQ better correlates with overall symptom burden and HR-QOL in this population.
• This suggests the CGHQ is a valuable tool for understanding the multifaceted health status of neurological patients.