Resumen de Self-reported screening questionnaire for the assessment of Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (SQ-CH): a collagen condition, in Spanish population

Antonio Bulbena Vilarrasa, Núria Mallorquí Bagué, Guillem Pailhez Vindual, Silvia Rosado, Ignacio González, Josep Blanch Rubió, Jordi Carbonell Abelló

• Background and Objectives:

  To develop a self-assessment screening ques- tionnaire (SQ-CH), with image illustrated criteria to easily identify collagen anomalies and to assist Hypermobility�s evaluation in a Spanish sample.

  Methods:

  One hundred ninety one participants were recruited form an anxiety outpa- tient unit of a general university hospital and from a primary care setting, underwent a complete and rigorous evaluation of hypermobility. First, all participants completed the self-reported measures for the screening of Hypermobility Syndrome, the 7 self-reported items in y/n format aiming to validate (SQ-CH) and the 5 item self-reporting questionnaire of Hakim and Grahame (2003). Secondly, each of the participants was individual assessed by a trained clinician on the Beighton and Hospital del Mar evaluation for the diagnosis of Joint Hypermobility Syndrome.

  Results : Significant correlations were found between the SQ-CH and the Beighton and Hospital del Mar scales as well as with the 5-item self-reporting questionnaire. Results on temporal stability, specificity and sensitivity of the SQ-CH were satisfactory, and the best cut-off point was set at 3 positive items (i.e. answered affirmatively).

  Conclusions:

  The developed screening questionnaire for hypermobility (SQ-CH) is, to our knowledge, the first self-assessment questionnaire to evaluate the symptoms of the joint hypermobility syndrome in a Spanish population. It has shown good validity and good reliability and is therefore ready for its use as a screening tool to assess this collagen condition in all sort of potential suffers, particularly, patients suffering from anxiety.