Health Questionnaire HQ

Abstract

The Health Questionnaire (HQ) is a self-report inventory designed primarily to screen for and quantify a wide range of physical complaints and symptoms across multiple bodily systems. Although referred to here as the HQ, this instrument is based on or is a highly focused excerpt of the comprehensive Cornell Medical Index (CMI), developed in 1949. Its original purpose was to serve as an efficient adjunct to the medical interview, allowing clinicians to quickly identify areas of health concern, including potential somatic symptoms and long-standing physical problems, before the patient is seen by a doctor. The HQ facilitates a structured assessment of the patient’s medical history and current physiological status.

Keywords

Health Questionnaire, HQ, Cornell Medical Index, CMI, somatic symptoms, physical health screening, medical inventory, self-report, psychological assessment, psychosomatic complaints, medical history.

Authors

Brodman, K., Erdmann, A.J., Lorge, I., Wolff, H.G.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Health Questionnaire (HQ)—as derived from the CMI—is to provide a standardized, objective measure of an individual’s physical symptom burden. It is used in clinical and research settings to screen large populations quickly or to streamline the initial diagnostic process in medical practice. By covering diverse physiological systems, the HQ helps differentiate organic disease from functional or psychosomatic complaints, guiding the physician toward areas requiring deeper investigation.

The detailed symptom checklist covers everything from vision and hearing to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and genitourinary functions, ensuring a comprehensive overview of the respondent’s physical state. The “Yes/No” response format simplifies administration and scoring, making it highly practical for busy clinical environments.

Construct

The HQ measures the construct of perceived physical health status and somatic distress. It operationalizes this construct by assessing the presence or absence of specific medical and physiological symptoms experienced by the respondent. The scale is organized into distinct categories corresponding to major bodily systems (e.g., Eyes and Ears, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal, Musculoskeletal, etc.), allowing for the calculation of subscale scores indicative of distress in specific areas.

Crucially, the HQ also captures historical medical conditions (e.g., Tuberculosis, rheumatic fever) and lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, sleep habits), providing a holistic profile of the respondent’s current health challenges and medical background. This focus distinguishes it as a thorough medical screening tool rather than solely a measure of psychological distress.

Validity

Validity evidence for the foundational Cornell Medical Index (CMI), from which the HQ is derived, has been extensively documented since its introduction. Content validity is strong, as the items were developed in collaboration with medical professionals to cover the full spectrum of common physical ailments encountered in clinical practice. Concurrent validity has been demonstrated through its ability to correlate significantly with actual clinical diagnoses and the number of physical symptoms reported during subsequent physician interviews.

Studies have shown that high scores on the CMI (and thus on the HQ’s physical sections) are predictive of higher utilization of medical services and are often associated with psychological conditions, particularly anxiety and depression, highlighting its utility in identifying patients with significant somatic symptoms that may require integrated physical and mental health care.

Reliability

The HQ, mirroring the CMI, typically exhibits good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, especially for the total symptom score. The categorical organization of symptoms into distinct bodily systems aids in maintaining reliability within subscales. The binary “Yes/No” response format contributes to reliable scoring by minimizing subjective interpretation during administration.

In various research contexts, the stability of scores over short periods has been affirmed, suggesting that the instrument consistently measures the respondent’s perceived level of somatic distress unless a genuine change in health status occurs. Reliability is generally highest in populations reporting chronic or long-standing health issues.

Factor Analysis

While the HQ is structured around clinical anatomical systems (A through L), factor analysis of the full Cornell Medical Index often reveals underlying factors that transcend these neat divisions. Typically, factors emerge representing broad categories of distress, such as general somatic complaints, gastrointestinal distress, cardiovascular symptoms, and a distinct factor for chronic illness history.

The physical sections of the HQ (A-G, I-L) tend to load heavily onto a general physical illness factor or specific factors related to systems (e.g., musculoskeletal pain, respiratory trouble). This empirical factor structure supports the use of the HQ both as a comprehensive total score and as a collection of subscales relevant to specific medical specialties.

Instrument

Test Type: Clinical Screening Inventory; Self-Report Questionnaire

Format: Binary (Dichotomous) response format (Yes/No). The HQ contains 144 items across various categories (A-L).

Language Available: English (Original CMI has been translated into numerous languages globally).

Population Group: General adult population; clinical populations; military personnel (historically).

Age Group: Typically 18 years and older.

Population Details: Originally standardized and utilized extensively with medical patients and military recruits to quickly assess health status and fitness for duty.

Test Methodology: Paper-and-pencil self-administration, typically completed prior to a medical consultation. Scoring involves summing the number of “Yes” responses, often weighted by specific subscales or sections.

Keywords

Symptom checklist, physical illness, health perception, medical screening, somatization, functional complaints, Anemia, T.B., Epilepsy, fatigue.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source content. Original authors were affiliated with Cornell University Medical College and The New York Hospital.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The foundational work for this questionnaire, the Cornell Medical Index, was published in 1949. While the specific HQ version may be freely available for research and clinical use depending on local institutional agreements, the CMI itself historically required permissions or was licensed. The instrument described here can be found online at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The online instrument can be accessed here: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index3651EN.html

Reference’s

• Brodman‚ K.‚ Erdmann‚ A.J.‚ Lorge‚ I.‚ & Wolff‚ H.G. (1949). The Cornell Medical Index: An adjunct to medical interview. Journal of the American Medical Association‚ 140‚ 530-534. Kenneth Brodman‚ M.D.

Items of the Health Questionnaire HQ

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• A

  1. Do you need glasses to read?
  2. Do you need glasses to see things at a distance?
  3. Has your eyesight often blacked out completely?
  4. Do your eyes continually blink or water?
  5. Do you often have bad pains in your eyes?
  6. Are your eyes often red or inflamed?
  7. Are you hard of hearing?
  8. Have you ever had a bad running ear?
  9. Do you have constant noises in your ears?

• B

  10. Do you have to clear your throat frequently?
  11. Do you often feel a choking lump in your throat?
  12. Are you often troubled with bad spells of sneezing?
  13. Is your nose continually stuffed up?
  14. Do you suffer from a constantly running nose?
  15. Have you at times had bad nose bleeds?
  16. Do you often catch severe colds?
  17. Do you frequently suffer from heavy chest colds?
  18. When you catch a cold‚ do you always have to go to bed?
  19. Do frequent colds keep you miserable all winter?
  20. Do you get hay fever?
  21. Do you suffer from asthma?
  22. Are you troubled by constant coughing?
  23. Have you ever coughed up blood?
  24. Do you sometimes have severe soaking sweats at night?
  25. Have you ever had a chronic chest condition?
  26. Have you ever had T.B. (Tuberculosis)?
  27. Did you ever live with anyone who had T.B.?

• C

  28. Has a doctor ever said your blood pressure was too high?
  29. Has a doctor ever said your blood pressure was too low?
  30. Do you have pains in the heart or chest?
  31. Are you often bothered by thumping of the heart?
  32. Does your heart often race like mad?
  33. Are you troubled by bleeding gums? (Note: Item numbers 33-41 are missing in the source content)
  34. Have you often had severe toothaches?
  35. Is your tongue usually badly coated?
  36. Is your appetite always poor?
  37. Do you usually eat sweets or other food between meals?
  38. Do you always gulp your food in a hurry’?
  39. Do you often suffer from an upset stomach?
  40. Do you usually feel bloated after eating?
  41. Do you usually belch a lot after eating?
  42. Are you often sick to your stomach?
  43. Do you suffer from indigestion?
  44. Do severe pains in the stomach often double you up?
  45. Do you suffer from constant stomach trouble?
  46. Does stomach trouble run in your family?
  47. Has a doctor ever said you had stomach ulcers?
  48. Do you suffer from frequently loose bowel movements?
  49. Have you ever had severe bloody diarrhea?
  50. Were you ever troubled with intestinal worms?
  51. Do you constantly suffer from bad constipation?
  52. Have you ever had piles (rectal hemorrhoids)?
  53. Have you ever had jaundice (yellow eyes and skin)?
  54. Have you ever had serious liver or gall bladder trouble?

• E

  64. Are your joints often painfully swollen?
  65. Do your muscles and joints constantly feel stiff?
  66. Do you usually have severe pains in the arms or legs?
  67. Are you crippled with severe rheumatism (arthritis)?
  68. Does rheumatism (arthritis) run in your family?
  69. Do weak or painful feet make your life miserable?
  70. Do pains in the back make it hard for you to keep up with your work?
  71. Are you troubled with a serious bodily disability or deformity?

• F

  72. Is your skin very sensitive or tender?
  73. Do cuts in your skin usually stay open a long time?
  74. Does your face often get badly flushed?
  75. Do you sweat a great deal even in cold weather? .
  76. Are you often bothered by severe itching?
  77. Does your skin often break out in a rash?
  78. Are you often troubled with boils?

• G

  89. Have you at times had a twitching of the face or head? (Note: Item numbers 79-88 are missing in the source content)
  90. Did you ever have a fit or convulsion (epilepsy)?
  91. Has anyone in your family ever had fits or convulsions (epilepsy)?
  92. Did you bite your nails badly?
  93. Are you troubled by stuttering or stammering?
  94. Are you a sleep walker?
  95. Are a bed wetter?
  96. Were you a bed wetter between the ages of 8 and 14?

• H – FEMALES

  97. Have your menstrual periods usually been painful?
  98. Have you often felt weak or sick with your periods?
  99. Have you often had to lie down when your periods came on?
  100. Have you usually been tense or jumpy with your periods?
  101. Have you ever had constant severe hot flashes and sweats?
  102. Have you often been troubled with vaginal discharge?
  103. Do you have to get up every night and urinate?
  104. During the day‚ do you usually have to urinate frequently?
  105. Do you often have severe burning paw when you urinate?
  106. Do you sometimes lose control of your bladder?
  107. Has a doctor ever said you had kidney or bladder disease?

• H – MALES

  97. Have you ever had anything seriously wrong with your genitals (privates)?
  98. Are your genitals often painful or sore?
  99. Have you ever had treatment for your genitals?
  100. Has a doctor ever said you had a hernia (rupture)?
  101. Have you ever passed blood while urinating (passing water)?
  102. Do you have trouble starting your stream when urinating?
  103. Do you have to get up every night and urinate?
  104. During the day‚ do you usually have to urinate frequently?
  105. Do you often have severe burning pain when you urinate?
  106. Do you sometimes lose control of your bladder?
  107. Has a doctor ever said you had kidney or bladder disease?

• I

  108. Do you often get spells of complete exhaustion or fatigue?
  109. Does working tire you out completely?
  110. Do you usually get up tired and exhausted in the morning?
  111. Does every little effort wear you out?
  112. Are you constantly too tired and exhausted even to cat?
  113. Do you suffer from severe nervous exhaustion?
  114. Does nervous exhaustion run in your family? . 122. Are you always ill and unhappy? (Note: Item numbers 115-121 are missing in the source content)
  115. Are you constantly made miserable by poor health?

• K

  124. Did you ever have scarlet fever?
  125. As a child‚ did you have rheumatic fever‚ growing pains or twitching of the limbs?
  126. Did you ever have malaria?
  127. Were you ever treated for severe anemia (thin blood)?
  128. Were you ever treated for “bad blood” (venereal disease)?
  129. Do you have diabetes (sugar disease)?
  130. Did a doctor ever say you had a goiter (in your neck)?
  131. Did a doctor ever treat you for tumor or cancer?
  132. Did you suffer from any chronic disease?
  133. Are you definitely under weight?
  134. Are you definitely over weight?
  135. Did a doctor ever say you had varicose veins (swollen veins) in your legs?
  136. Did you ever have a serious operation?
  137. Did you ever have a serious injury?
  138. Did you often have small accidents or injuries?

• L

  139. Do you usually have great difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep?
  140. Do you find it impossible to take a regular rest period each day?
  141. Do you find it impossible to take regular daily exercise?
  142. Do you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day?
  143. Do you drink more than six cups of coffee or tea a day?
  144. Do you usually take two or more alcoholic drinks a day?