Reliability and construct validity of the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire in the elderly with low back pain

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) in the elderly with low back pain (LBP). Design: Validation of the ODQ in the elderly with LBP. Subjects: Twenty-nine elderly with LBP were included in the study. Methods: ODQ, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ), lumbar mobility testing and visual analogue scale (VAS) were used as validity study for each elder and tests were repeated seven days later. Results: Scores of the two ODQ were 48.76 (SD = 17.02) on day one and 51.24 (SD = 15.20) on day seven, respectively, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.93 (p = 0.000). Cronbach's alpha was 0.722 on day one and 0.717 on day seven. Concurrent validity was measured by comparing ODQ responses with the result of VAS and flexibility were r = 0.53, p = 0.003 and r = 0.03, p > 0.05 for day one, and r = 0.48, p = 0.002, r = -0.03, p > 0.05 for day seven respectively. Construct validity, tested by the correlation between the Turkish ODQ and the Turkish adaptation of the RMQ yielded r = 0.66, p = 0.000 on day one and r = 0.78, p = 0.000 on day seven. Conclusion: The ODQ seems to be a reliable and valid questionnaire for assessing the disability of elderly patients with LBP.