The Reliability and Validity of a Korean Translation of the ASAS Health Index and Environmental Factors in Korean Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis

The objective of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Assessment ofSpondyloarthritis International Society-Health Index/Environmental Factor (ASAS HI/EF)and to evaluate its reliability and validity in Korean patients with axial spondyloarthritis(SpA). A total of 43 patients participated. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of theASAS HI/EF was performed according to international standardized guidelines. We alsoevaluated validity by calculating correlation coefficients between the ASAS-HI/EF score andthe clinical parameters. Test-retest reliability was excellent. The correlations among themean ASAS-HI score and all tools of assessment for SpA were significant. When it came toconstruct validity, the ASAS HI score was correlated with nocturnal back pain, spinal pain,patients’s global assessment score, the Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index(BASDAI), Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), Bath ankylosing spondylitismetrology index (BASMI) and EuroQoL visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) (r = 0.353, 0.585,0.598, 0.637, 0.690, 0.430, and -0.534). The ASAS EF score was also correlated with thepatient’s global assessment’s score, BASDAI, BASFI, BASMI, and EQ VAS score (r = 0.375,0.490, 0.684, 0.485, and -0.554). The Korean version of the ASAS HI/EF can be used inthe clinical field to assess and evaluate the state of health of Korean axial SpA patients.This study was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (grant No. 2011-0008867 and 2011-0011332), and by Chonnam National University, 2011