Relating olfaction-related quality of life and psychophysical olfactory performance: validation of the Hebrew questionnaire of olfactory disorders

Olfactory dysfunction substantially affects olfaction-related quality of life, daily functioning, safety, and well-being, yet a validated, comprehensive, Hebrew, olfaction-specific patient-reported outcome measure is unavailable. To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Hebrew version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (He-QOD). This prospective cross-sectional study included 90 patients with OD and 48 healthy controls. Participants completed the He-QOD, Sniffin’ Sticks threshold-discrimination-identification (TDI) testing, and a Hebrew-adapted University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Thirty-three participants underwent retesting after at least 4 weeks. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, known-group validity, convergent validity, and discriminative ability were evaluated. The total He-QOD had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.931) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.971). Patients had higher total and domain scores than controls (all p < 0.001). Total He-QOD score correlated inversely with TDI (ρ = −0.57, p < 0.001) and UPSIT scores (ρ = −0.56, p < 0.001). Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves ranged from 0.833 to 0.846. The He-QOD is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the patient-reported burden of OD among Hebrew-speaking populations. Its association with two psychophysical assessments supports its use alongside objective testing in clinical and research settings.