Reference ranges of the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) score and diagnostic validity of its 12‐item version in identifying altered functioning in healthy postpartum women

OBJECTIVES: To compare scores on the 36‐item WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 tool (WHODAS‐36) for postpartum women across a continuum of morbidity and to validate the 12‐item version (WHODAS‐12). METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of the Brazilian retrospective cohort study on long‐term repercussions of severe maternal morbidity. We determined mean, median, and percentile values for WHODAS‐36 total score and for each domain, and percentile values for WHODAS‐12 total score in postpartum women divided into three groups: “no,” “nonsevere,” and “severe” morbidities. RESULTS: The WHODAS‐36 mean total scores were 11.58, 18.31, and 19.19, respectively for no, nonsevere, and severe morbidity. There was a dose‐dependent effect on scores for each domain of WHODAS‐36 according to the presence and severity of morbidity. The diagnostic validity of WHODAS‐12 was determined by comparing it with WHODAS‐36 as a “gold standard.” The best cut‐off point for diagnosing dysfunctionality was the 95th percentile. CONCLUSION: The upward trend of WHODAS‐36 total mean value scores of women with no morbidity compared with those with morbidity along a severity continuum may reflect the impact of morbidity on postpartum functioning.