Validation of the Hindi Version of the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire in a Hindi-speaking Indian Population

Background: Bronchiectasis is a debilitating respiratory condition characterized by chronic cough with expectoration of thick sputum.It accounts for significant morbidity and mortality, especially when associated with exacerbations.Assessing the health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) of patients with bronchiectasis is important to ascertain the impact of the disease on day-to-day life, as well as to gauge the effect of targeted interventions.Conventionally used methods for assessing HR-QoL such as the St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) are time-consuming and have limitations in day-to-day application.The bronchiectasis health questionnaire (BHQ) is a novel, compact tool used for assessing the HR-QoL, and has been validated for use in Korean and Turkish populations.Materials and methods: We attempted to develop and validate the Hindi version of the BHQ in Indian adults with bronchiectasis.We assessed the correlation between the Hindi BHQ (H-BHQ) scores and other measures of lung health including the Hindi version of the COPD assessment tool (H-CAT), pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and the bronchiectasis severity index (BSI).In addition, we assessed the correlation between the H-BHQ scores and the number of exacerbations and hospital admissions in the previous year.Results: A total of 145 subjects with bronchiectasis were included.The mean (±SD) H-BHQ total score was 49.10 ± 10.3.The H-BHQ score correlated well with the H-CAT score (correlation coefficient = -0.6534,p-value < 0.0001) and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale (correlation coefficient of -0.4459, p-value < 0.0001).The H-BHQ score also had a moderate correlation with the number of exacerbations and low correlation with hospital admissions in the previous year, with correlation coefficients of -0.4193 (p < 0.0001) and -0.3030 (p < 0.0001), respectively.The correlation between the H-BHQ and the BSI score was weak (correlation coefficient of -0.3012, p-value < 0.01). Conclusion:The H-BHQ offers a simple and convenient method to assess the HR-QoL in patients with bronchiectasis, and correlates well with other measures of respiratory health, including the H-CAT, the mMRC score and the number of exacerbations and hospital admissions in the previous year.