Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Mexican version of the kidney disease questionnaire KDQOL-SF36 version 1.3.

PURPOSE: To translate the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form 36 (KDQOL-SF36) v1.3 questionnaire into the Spanish language, adapt it culturally, and validate it in the Mexican population.
METHODS: The translation and transcultural adaptation were performed according to the recommendations of RAND Health (translation/pilot test/back-translation). We used coefficient alpha to determine the internal consistency, intra- and interobserver intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to determine the test-retest reliability, and Pearson correlation coefficients to confirm the construct validity.
RESULTS: The questionnaires were applied to 194 Mexican on haemodialysis. In total, 37.6 % lived in the northern region of Mexico, 28.9 % lived in the southern region, and 33.5 % lived in the central region. The average age was 54 ± 16 years, and 54.6 % were male. The intra- and interobserver ICCs were ≥0.7 for most dimensions evaluated (range 0.5-0.9). The internal consistency was acceptable, with coefficient alpha values ≥0.7 for 12 of the 18 dimensions (range 0.4-0.9). The construct validity was acceptable, especially in the generic component SF36, with correlation coefficients >0.5 for most dimensions.
CONCLUSIONS: Psychometric testing indicated that the Mexican version of the KDQOL-SF36 provided valid and reliable scores that were similar to the results obtained with the original English version.