Linguistic and Clinical Validation of the Polish Version of the Walking Impairment Questionnaire

Background: Intermittent claudication is one of the most common symptoms of peripheral arterial disease. The Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) is frequently used to assess patients suffering from intermittent claudication as it measures walking distance, speed, and ability to climb stairs. Although the questionnaire has been translated and employed in different countries, no validated Polish version is available yet. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Polish version of the WIQ. Methods: One hundred patients with IC who qualified for endovascular treatment were enrolled. WIQ translation and clinical validation was performed. The correlations among the WIQ, the two quality of life questionnaires (VascuQol-25 and SF-36), and objective walking distances in a 6-minute walking test (6 MWT) were calculated to determine the validity. Results: Correlations were observed among all WIQ domains, as well as between the total WIQ score and both initial claudication distance (InCD) and maximum walking distance (MWD), across all domains and 6 MWT parameters. The WIQ correlated with all domains of both VascuQol and SF-36. Test–retest reliability, as measured using the ICC, was 0.90. The internal consistency determined using Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94 for the total WIQ score. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the Polish version of the WIQ, using the European metric system, is a reliable and clinically relevant tool for assessing walking impairment in patients with intermittent claudication.