Validity and reliability of the Hebrew version of the Brief Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (Brief-QOD) and the Self-Reported Mini Olfactory Questionnaire (Self-MOQ)

TL;DR

This study validates Hebrew versions of two questionnaires for assessing smell disorders, showing they are reliable and accurate for Hebrew-speaking patients.

Contribution

The Hebrew versions of Self-MOQ and Brief-QOD are newly validated for use in Hebrew-speaking populations.

Findings

The Hebrew versions showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α of 0.79–0.94).

The Self-MOQ was the strongest predictor of group membership (patients vs. controls).

A cutoff score of ≥2 on Self-MOQ accurately distinguished patients from controls (AUC = 0.97).

Abstract

To translate and validate Hebrew versions of two patient-reported outcome measure questionnaires: the Self-Reported Mini Olfactory Questionnaire (Self-MOQ) and the Brief Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (Brief-QOD).

A forward-backward translation process was conducted for both questionnaires. All participants rated their sense of smell using a general Visual Analog Scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (no dysfunction) to 10 (severe dysfunction). The patient group completed the questionnaires and the SNOT-22 questionnaire once. A control group of healthy participants completed the questionnaires twice to evaluate test-retest reliability. Subsets of both groups took the Sniffin’ Sticks test.

The translation process resulted in Hebrew versions deemed clear and culturally appropriate. A total of 91 individuals were enrolled in the control group and 62 in the patient group. The Hebrew versions of the Self-MOQ and Brief-QOD demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α of 0.79–0.94 in the full sample) and overall test-retest reliability. The patient group had higher scores than the control group across all measures (p < 0.001). Logistic regression indicated that the Self-MOQ was the strongest predictor of group membership, while the Brief-QOD QOL and Visual Analog Scale components also significantly contributed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified an optimal Self-MOQ cutoff score of ≥ 2 for distinguishing patients from controls, with excellent accuracy (AUC = 0.97).

The Hebrew Self-MOQ and Brief-QOD are reliable and valid tools for assessing olfactory dysfunction in the Hebrew-speaking population. Future research should evaluate questionnaire results after clinical interventions.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41687-025-00961-7.

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