Quality of life in patients with osteoporosis fractures: Cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Osteoporosis Assessment Questionnaire

Objective The purpose of this study was to translate into Braziliart-Portuguese the O steoporosis Assessment Questionnaire (OPAQ) and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Methods The OPAQ was translated into Brazilian-Portuguese. This version was then ba ck-translated into art English version which was compared to the original v ersion, and a second Brazilian-Portuguese version was generated. This draft version of the Brazilian-Portuguese OPAQ was administered to 30 patients w ith lumbar osteoporosis and no fractures. The non-applicable questions were modified and, after being administered again, this Brazilian-Portuguese ve rsion of the OPAQ was accepted as definitive. Its reliability was tested in 30 osteoporotic out-patients, and was administered three times to the pati ents to check the intra/interobserver reliability. The patients were also c linically evaluated using HAQ FIQ and a numerical rating scale for pain. Fo r all patients the number of fractures and the bone mineral density at the spine were determined. Results The mean age of the patients was 69 years (54 to 89 years) and the mean num ber of fractures was 2. 72. Twenty-one patients (70%) had had more than one vertebral fracture. All of the questionnaire components, except for mood ( c16), presented statistically significant coefficients for intra/interobsew er reliability. The highest score was observed for "the fear of falling" (6 .70). Correlations between the OPAQ components and the number of fractures, bone density and Z-score were not statistically significant. Conclusions This Brazilian-Portuguese version of the OPAQ is a reliable and valid instr ument. Other aspects than bone mineral density and the number of fractures have an important influence on the quality of life in patients with osteopo rosis and fractures.