Validation in Brazil of a Questionnaire on Quality of Life in Chronic Venous Disease (Aberdeen Varicose Veins Questionnaire for Brazil/AVVQ-Brazil) Validação no Brasil de Questionário de Qualidade de Vida na Doença Venosa Crônica (Questionário Aberdeen para Veias Varicosas no Brasil/AVVQ-Brasil)

1 Abstract Background: There is growing global interest in validated health assessment instruments. In order to use these instruments in different countries, it is necessary to conduct translation, cultural adaptation and validation in the target language. In Brazil, there are few instruments for assessment of the impact of chronic venous disease (CVD) on the quality of life (QoL) of patients. Objective: To validate the AVVQ-Brazil. Method: This was an analytical, observational study to validate the AVVQ questionnaire with 107 individuals with CVD. The version of the AVVQ adapted for Brazilian Portuguese was administered three times. The first two administrations were successive, with a 30-minute interval (interobserver reproducibility) and the third administration took place 7 to 15 days later (intraobserver reproducibility). Internal consistency and validity were also assessed. Results: A total of 107 people took part, 87.9% were female, mean age was 50.1 years ± 14.7; the majority had spent long periods standing up (57.0%) throughout their lives and did not engage in physical exercise (96.3%). Many had not completed primary education (25.2%); were members of economic class C2 (36.4%); and had disease severity class C4 (22.4%) or C6 (23.3%) on the CEAP scale. Interobserver and intraobserver reliability of the AVVQ were excellent. Internal consistency was excellent to moderate for the majority of domains. Spearman correlations showed that total AVVQ score and its Pain and Dysfunction domains were negatively correlated with all SF-36 domains. The Mann-Whitney test showed that patients with CEAP 1, 2 or 3 exhibited differences that were statistically significant from those with CEAP 4, 5 or 6 for total AVVQ scores and for Complications domain scores. Conclusions: The AVVQ has been validated for Brazil and can now be used.