Investigation of the reliability and validity of the vertigo handicap questionnaire (VHQ) translated into Japanese

We have translated the dizziness handicap questionnaires (DHI), which were one of the dizziness questionnaires of a few years ago, confirmed the reliability and applied our results in our clinical research. However each of the sentences in the DHI is not always familiar to the individual dizzy patient. Some other type of questionnaires would therefore be better for some dizzy patients. A vertigo handicap questionnaire (VHQ) is one of the questionnaires for the quantitative evaluation of the degrees of handicap in the daily lives of patients with vestibular disorders. It consists of 25 questions. The aim of the present study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Japanese translation of the VHQ (VHQ-J). The VHQ-J was undergone by 110 patients suffering dizziness. The results were analyzed and are summarized as follows: (1) Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which measures the reliability based on the consistency of the questionnaire, was 0.78. (2) The VHQ-J components significantly correlated with the Dizziness handicap inventory (DHI-J) (p<0.05). (3) The VHQ-J results significantly correlated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (p<0.05). (4) The VHQ-J significantly correlated with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (p<0.05). These results indicated that the VHQ- J is a valid and reliable questionnaire that can be used to assess the degree of handicap in the daily lives of patients with vestibular disorders.