Validity and reliability of Arabic version of pediatric migraine disability assessment scale (Child Self-Report versus Parent Proxy-Report): a multi-center study

BackgroundPediatric Migraine Disability Assessment (PedMIDAS) is one of the most frequently used questionnaires to assess disability from migraine in pediatric patients. This work aimed to evaluate the validity and test-retest reliability of the Arabic version of the child self-report versus the parent proxy report PedMIDAS. We also aimed to test the agreement between children's and parents' reports of the scale.MethodsPedMIDAS was subjected to translation and back-translation, then applied to 112 pediatric patients fulfilling the migraine diagnostic criteria. This cross-sectional study was conducted on two visits, one week apart. At visit 1, the following data were obtained from the included pediatric patients: disease duration, migraine type, current treatment regimen, monthly migraine days (MMD) during the last month preceding the enrollment, and migraine intensity using the visual analogue scale. Then, each child and his parent were independently asked to fill out PedMIDAS and Child Self-Report of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (TM) 4.0 (PedsQL (TM)) to test the convergent validity of PedMIDAS. At visit 2, each child was requested to complete PedMIDAS again, and so was the parent to evaluate test-retest reliability.ResultsCronbach's alpha was estimated to be 0.94 for each instrument. For the child-self report PedMIDAS, the average measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value was 0.992 (95%CI = 0.989-0.995), while it was estimated to be 0.990 for the parent-proxy report with 95%CI = 0.985-0.993, indicating excellent test-retest reliability for both instruments. The child-self report and the parent-proxy report PedMIDAS scores were significantly correlated with MMD, VAS, and all domains of the corresponding PedsQL, supporting convergent validity for both instruments. Agreement between parent and child on disability grading categories of PedMIDAS was substantial (kappa = 0.644).ConclusionThe Arabic version of PedMIDAS was a valid and reliable instrument to assess disability from migraine in Arabic-speaking pediatric patients with migraine. Parent reports can be valuable as a complement to child reports for a comprehensive assessment of migraine.