THE ANGINA-RELATED LIMITATIONS AT WORK QUESTIONNAIRE

This report describes initial experience with a new self-report questi onnaire, the 17 item Angina-related Limitations at Work Questionnaire. Forty employed individuals with chronic stable angina pectoris comple ted the questionnaire which retrospectively examined the subjects' dif ficulty in performing specific work activities during the preceding 4 week period. The questionnaire performed well in this study and there was initial evidence of its validity and reliability. More than one-ha lf of the respondents (52.5%) indicated at least some difficulty in pe rforming one or more of the 17 work items due to angina during the pre ceding 4 weeks, with the greatest difficulty experienced in physically exerting tasks, handling stressful situations and feeling a sense of accomplishment. In contrast, only one-quarter of the sample missed any work time. In tests of convergent validity, the degree of work limita tion correlated significantly with SF-36 physical and mental health co mponent scores and with self-reports of angina symptoms. The questionn aire had internal reliability, with item to total score correlations o f 0.75 or higher for 14 of the 17 items. In summary, the Angina-relate d Limitations at Work Questionnaire offers promise for quantifying wor k limitations among individuals with chronic stable angina.