The Vespid Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire – cultural adaptation and translation to Portuguese

SUMMARY

A cross-cultural translation of the Vespid Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (VQLQ) to the Portuguese population (VQLQ-P) was performed, assessing its applicability in wasp and in non-beekeeper bee venom allergic patients. Additionally, we evaluated a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to estimate hymenoptera allergy interference with daily life. Methods. Cross-cultural translation was performed according to recommendations. The final VQLQ-P version, the Expectation of Outcome questionnaire (EoQ), EQ-5D and VAS were applied to wasp (n = 19) and non-beekeeper bee venom allergic patients (n = 30). Results. VQLQ-P significantly correlated with EoQ, (r = 0.76, p < 0.01), EQ-5D (usual activities and anxiety / depression dimensions) and VAS, with a good internal consistency (Cronbach á = 0.88) in wasp allergic individuals. VQLQ-P and EoQ correlation was also high (r = 0.67, p < 0.01) in bee allergy.
Conclusion. The VQLQ-P is a valuable tool to evaluate quality of life impairment in Portuguese hymenoptera venom allergic individuals.