Arabic Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (Ar-HDSS)

TL;DR

This paper translates and validates a severity scale for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) into Arabic, showing it works well for measuring disease impact.

Contribution

The study provides a culturally adapted and validated Arabic version of the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (Ar-HDSS).

Findings

The Arabic HDSS showed substantial test-retest reliability with a kappa coefficient of 0.732.

The scale had significant positive correlations with quality of life domains and the HidroQoL index.

The Ar-HDSS demonstrated strong psychometric properties suitable for clinical use.

Abstract

Background: Hyperhidrosis (HH) is characterized by excessive sweating, which affects quality of life. The Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS) is a four-point scale used to evaluate HH severity by measuring how much excessive sweating disrupts daily activities. This study aimed to translate, validate, and adapt the HDSS tool into Arabic. Methods: A quantitative, analytical, cross-sectional study was carried out from May to June 2024 on patients clinically diagnosed with HH. The process of translating the HDSS into Arabic involved three independent forward translations, followed by a preliminary version created by a reviewer. Three additional independent translators conducted backward translations. All of the versions were then revised and merged to produce the final version. Reliability was evaluated through a test–retest reliability approach to ensure the reproducibility of the results. For validity, we used construct validity to compare the HDSS with the HidroQoL index. Results: A total of 167 patients were included, with a mean age of 29 ± 9.02 years, and over half of the patients were male (61%). The interrater agreement between the HDSS test and the retest results was substantial, with a kappa coefficient of 0.732. Significant positive correlations were observed between the HDSS score and daily life (r = 0.413, p < 0.001), the psychological domain (r = 0.374, p < 0.001), and HidroQOL (r = 0.425, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the Arabic HDSS has excellent psychometric properties, including construct validity and reproducibility. Proper use of the Arabic HDSS will allow the effective assessment of HH severity.

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