Background/Purpose: General health evaluation questionnaires are important instruments in assessing the impact of disorders that affect multiple domains of a patient´s life. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was specifically developed to assess disease severity and functional ability in fibromyalgia patients. Since its initial publication in 1991, it has been widely used in clinical trials and clinical practice, with many translated versions around the world. In 2009, a revised version of the FIQ was published, the FIQR; this attempted to correct some of the problems that had emerged in the use of the original FIQ over the ensuing 18 years in aiming to achieve a better balance among different domains (Function, Overall Impact, Symptoms) and provide an easier scoring system.  Here we present the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR).

Methods: Female fibromyalgia patients (n=106) completed an online survey consisting of demographic data, the SF-36 questionnaire, the original FIQ (both in validated Brazilian Portuguese Translation), and the Brazilian Portuguese FIQR, which was translated by a standard method. Validity was established with correlational analyses between FIQR, FIQ and SF-36 items. Three domains were established for FIQR (Function, Overall Impact, Symptoms) and their contribution for the SF-36 subscales was also scrutinized.

Results: The Brazilian Portuguese FIQR validation process showed that the questions performed in a very similar way to the English FIQR. Four new questions in the FIQR symptoms (memory, balance, tenderness and environmental sensitivity) showed strikingly similar results to the original FIQR, revealing a significant impact in FM patients. The Brazilian Portuguese FIQR demonstrated excellent reliability, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.96. The correlation with the original FIQ was also good (r=0.854, p<0.001). There was a gain the weight of the function domain, with little change of the overall impact domain, and a decrease of the symptom domain, leading to a better balance among FM domains. FIQR predicted a great number of SF-36 subscales, showing both convergent and discriminant validity.

Conclusion:

The Brazilian Portuguese version of the FIQR was validated, and found to be a reliable and easy-to-use and score FM specific questionnaire that should prove useful in routine clinical practice and FM-related research

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/a-brazilian-portuguese-validation-of-the-revised-fibromyalgia-impact-questionnaire-fiqr/