Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Measurement Properties Analysis of the Brazilian Portuguese Version of the ICIQ-VS

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: The high prevalence of pelvic floor disorders in women requires assessments using validated instruments. We aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt to Brazilian Portuguese, and analyze the measurement properties of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Vaginal Symptoms Module (ICIQ-VS-Br).

Methods: Participants were Brazilian women older than 18 years presenting vulvovaginal symptoms according to the Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ-Br). The development of the ICIQ-VS-Br included the steps of translation, synthesis, back-translation, expert meeting, and pre-test. We analyzed construct validity by correlating the ICIQ-VS-Br and VSQ-Br. The participants answered the ICIQ-VS-Br the second time 7 to 10 days after the first response. We measured test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha, and construct validity using Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Results: The study included 313 women. Reproducibility was analyzed for the three subscales of the ICIQ-VS-Br, resulting in an ICC of 0.92 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.94) for "vaginal symptoms," 0.85 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.89) for "sexual matters," and 0.87 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.91) for "quality of life." Construct validity showed a moderate correlation between ICIQ-VS-Br and VSQ-Br, confirming our hypotheses.

Conclusions: The ICIQ-VS-Br demonstrated validity and reproducibility, indicating that the instrument can be used in scientific research and clinical practice.

Keywords: ICIQ-VS; Pelvic organ prolapse; Portuguese validation; Quality of life; Urinary incontinence; Vaginal symptoms.