Validity and reliability of Hindi version of oswestry disability index in Indian population

Patient-reported outcome scores are crucial for assessing treatment outcomes. However, a validated Hindi version of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is not currently available for use in the large Hindi-speaking population of India. This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of a translated version of the ODI in Hindi, enabling its use among the Hindi-speaking population.

A total of 103 patients who attended the spine clinic and physiotherapy department at Saifee Hospital completed the Hindi versions of the ODI (ODI-H), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). Twenty-five patients repeated the questionnaire within 2 weeks to evaluate test-retest reliability. The Hindi version of the ODI (ODI-H) was developed using forward-backward translation. Psychometric testing included internal consistency (Cronbach's α), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation), and validation by comparing the ODI-H with the VAS for back pain and the RMDQ, using Pearson correlation.

The mean age of the patients was 46.5 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 45:58. Cronbach's α was 0.915, indicating high internal consistency. Test-retest reliability showed an excellent intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.99. Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.615 (p<.0001) between the ODI-H and the RMDQ, and 0.317 (p<.0001) between the ODI-H and the VAS, demonstrating excellent construct validity. Additionally, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed excellent correlation for Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis for severe vs. nonsevere ODI-H and RMDQ scores (0.788, p<.001).

The Hindi version of the Oswestry Disability Index demonstrates acceptable reliability and validity for measuring functional impairment in Indians with low back pain. It performs similarly to the validated RMDQ and VAS scores. Using the Hindi ODI in clinical and research settings can help standardize evaluations and improve the management of low back pain in the Indian population.