Korean versions of British Medical Research Council (MRC), Cornell 1V,Mgdical Index(CMI), and American Thoracic Society 78 (ATS-DLD-78) respiratory questionaires were compared with each other, and were tested the stability, in terms of test-retest reliability, of each questions by self-administration of those to 156 medical students.
The results obtained and conclusions drawn are as follow:
1. The degree of agreements between responses to the comparable questions of CMI vs MRC, and of CMI vs ATS-DLD-78 were not satisfactory. There were, however, 71-x-100 per cent of agreement between responses to the questions on Cough, Wheezing, Phlegm, Breathlessness, and Chest illness of ATS-DLD-78 vs MRC questionaire. And the ATS-DLD-78 tended to yield greater number of positive responses than MRC (See Table 4).
2. All of the coefficient of stability of each questions in 3 questionaires were statistically significant, ranged 77100 per cent, except that of the question on episode´ of cough and phlegm in ATS-DLD-78 questionaire (See Table 5-1). The question is composed of two collateral conditions, "lasting for 3 weeks or more" and "each year".
3. It can be insisted that the Section-B questions of CMI is not proper for use in epidemiologic survey on respiratory illness. And rather than MRC, the ATS-DLD-78 questionaire deserves to prefer to be used in epidemiologic studies on respiratory illness.
4. In question-wording, especially, of inquiring past experience, it is possible to Iessen the reliability of the question that including collateral conditions such as `the duration lasted of symptoms´, and moreover, of which words are not common usage. For example, for Korean `10-days´ or `half a month´ is more familiar time unit rather than `week´.
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