Validation of the short form of the Spanish Hypertension Quality of Life Questionnaire (MINICHAL).

BACKGROUND The finding that low health-related quality of life (HRQoL) can be a risk factor for future cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension emphasizes the need for disease-specific HRQoL assessment tools in this population. OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the feasibility and psychometric properties of the short form of the Spanish Hypertension Quality of Life Questionnaire (MINICHAL). METHODS An observational, prospective, multicenter study was carried out among patients with hypertension, stratified by sex and disease stage. The feasibility and validity of the MINICHAL were evaluated at baseline. Two follow-up visits were conducted at 1 and 6 months after the initial visit, during which the test-retest reliability and responsiveness to change of the MINICHAL were assessed, respectively. RESULTS A total of 736 consecutive patients with hypertension were included. Mean (SD) administration time for the MINICHAL was 7.2 (6.5) minutes. In the validation process, factor analysis showed 2 dimensions: "State of mind" (StM) and "Somatic manifestations" (SM). The response level was high, with 94.3% of patients answering all items. Patients with a higher disease stage (ie, stage II/III hypertension) had a worse HRQoL than those with a lower disease stage (P < 0.01). Internal consistency was 0.87 for StM and 0.75 for SM. Test-retest reliability was 0.82 and 0.75 for the StM and SM dimensions, respectively. Among patients who reported experiencing a positive change in their overall health status 6 months after treatment initiation or treatment change, responsiveness to change ranged from 0.52 (better) to 1.14 (much better). CONCLUSIONS The MINICHAL questionnaire could be administered in a short time with a high response level and was found to have acceptable psychometric properties. The MINICHAL is a potentially useful tool for the evaluation of HRQoL among patients with hypertension in the routine clinical setting.

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