Abstract
The Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI) is a 25-item self-administered questionnaire. It is a noninvasive tool for measuring the handicapping effect of dysphagia on the physical, functional, and emotional aspects of people’s lives. The purposes of the present study were to develop an Arabic version of the DHI and to evaluate its validity, consistency, and reliability in the normal Arabic population with oropharyngeal dysphagia. This was a prospective study that was carried out at the Communication and Swallowing Disorders Unit, King Saud University. The generated Arabic DHI was administered to 94 patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia and 98 control subjects. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were evaluated. The results of the patients and the control group were compared. The Arabic DHI showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.95). Also, good test–retest reliability was found for the total scores of the Arabic DHI (r = 0.9, p = 0.001). There was a significant difference between the DHI scores of the control group and those of the oropharyngeal dysphagia group (p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that the Arabic DHI is a valid tool for self-assessment of the handicapping effect of dysphagia on the physical, functional, and emotional aspects of patients and can be used by Arabic language speakers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Logemann JA. Aspiration in head and neck surgical patients. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1985;94(4 Pt 1):373–6.
Chen AY, Frankowski R, Bishop-Leone J, Hebert T, Leyk S, Lewin J, et al. The development and validation of a dysphagia-specific quality-of-life questionnaire for patients with head and neck cancer: the M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(7):870–6.
Silbergleit AK, Schultz L, Jacobson BH, Beardsley T, Johnson AF. The Dysphagia Handicap Index: development and validation. Dysphagia. 2012;27(1):46–52.
Speyer R, Heijnen BJ, Baijens LW, Vrijenhoef FH, Otters EF, Roodenburg N, et al. Quality of life in oncological patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia: validity and reliability of the Dutch version of the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory and the Deglutition Handicap Index. Dysphagia. 2011;26(4):407–14.
Guedes RL, Angelis EC, Chen AY, Kowalski LP, Vartanian JG. Validation and application of the M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory in patients treated for head and neck cancer in Brazil. Dysphagia. 2013;28(1):24–32.
Carlsson S, Ryden A, Rudberg I, Bove M, Bergquist H, Finizia C. Validation of the Swedish M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) in patients with head and neck cancer and neurologic swallowing disturbances. Dysphagia. 2012;27(3):361–9.
Schindler A, Borghi E, Tiddia C, Ginocchio D, Felisati G, Ottaviani F. Adaptation and validation of the Italian MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI). Rev Laryngol Otol Rhinol. 2008;129(2):97–100.
Kwon CH, Kim YH, Park JH, Oh BM, Han TR. Validity and reliability of the Korean version of the MD Anderson dysphagia inventory for head and neck cancer patients. Ann Rehabil Med. 2013;37(4):479–87.
Bogaardt HC, Speyer R, Baijens LW, Fokkens WJ. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Dutch version of SWAL-QoL. Dysphagia. 2009;24(1):66–70.
Crestani S, Moerman M, Woisard V. The, “Deglutition Handicap Index”: a self-adminitrated dysphagia-specific quality of life questionnaire: sensibility to change. Rev Laryngol Otol Rhinol. 2011;132(1):3–7.
Carrau RL, Khidr A, Crawley JA, Hillson EM, Davis JK, Pashos CL. The impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on patient-reported quality of life. Laryngoscope. 2004;114(4):670–4.
Gustafsson LH, Otto U. Om kriget eller katastrofen kommer: vad gör vi med barnen?. Stockholm: Socialstyrelsen; 1991. p. 49.
Dakkak M, Bennett JR. A new dysphagia score with objective validation. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1992;14(2):99–100.
McHorney CA, Robbins J, Lomax K, Rosenbek JC, Chignell K, Kramer AE, et al. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE outcomes tool for oropharyngeal dysphagia in adults: III. Documentation of reliability and validity. Dysphagia. 2002;17(2):97–114.
Lam PM, Lai CK. The validation of the Chinese version of the Swallow Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (SWAL-QOL) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Dysphagia. 2011;26(2):117–24.
Vanderwegen J, Van Nuffelen G, De Bodt M. The validation and psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Swallowing Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (DSWAL-QOL). Dysphagia. 2013;28(1):11–23.
Belafsky PC, Mouadeb DA, Rees CJ, Pryor JC, Postma GN, Allen J, et al. Validity and reliability of the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10). Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008;117(12):919–24.
Rosen CA, Lee AS, Osborne J, Zullo T, Murry T. Development and validation of the voice handicap index-10. Laryngoscope. 2004;114(9):1549–56.
Silbergleit AK, LeWitt P, Junn F, Schultz LR, Collins D, Beardsley T, et al. Comparison of dysphagia before and after deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. Move Disord. 2012;27(14):1763–8.
Acknowledgments
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through research group No. RGP-VPP-295. Also, we acknowledge the efforts of Ms. Sheakha Ahmed Al-Qrin (SLP, member of swallowing team) in collecting and entering the data.
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflict of interest to report.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Farahat, M., Malki, K.H., Mesallam, T.A. et al. Development of the Arabic Version of Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI). Dysphagia 29, 459–467 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9528-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9528-7