Cross cultural adaptation of the Greek sarcopenia quality of life (SarQoL) questionnaire. Issue 7 (26th March 2020) - Tsekoura, Maria
Abstract: Purpose: To translate and validate into the Greek language and setting the Sarcopenia Quality of Life (SarQoL ® ) questionnaire. Methods: A convenience sample of 176 Greek elderly people (136 females, 40 males; aged 71.19 ± 7.95 years) was recruited, 50 of which (36 females, 14 males) were diagnosed sarcopenic. Questionnaire was back-translated and culturally adapted into Greek according to international guidelines. To validate the Greek SarQoL ®, we assessed its validity (discriminative power, construct validity), reliability (internal consistency, test–retest reliability) and floor/ceiling effects. Participants were divided into sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic. Sarcopenic subjects apart from the Greek SarQoL (SarQoL GR ) filled out the Greek versions of two generic questionnaires; Short Form-36 and EuroQoL 5-dimension. Results: The Greek SarQoL questionnaire was translated without major difficulties. SarQoL GR mean scores were 52.12 ± 11.04 (range: 24.74–71.81) for sarcopenic subjects and 68.23 ± 14.1 (range: 24.83–94.81) for non-sarcopenic ones. Results indicated good discriminative power across sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic subjects ( p = 0.01), high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.96) and excellent test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.95–0.97). Neither a floor nor a ceiling effect was observed. Conclusions: The Greek SarQoL was found to be a reliable and valid measure of quality of life for sarcopenic patients. It is therefore, available for use in future clinical research and practice. Implications for rehabilitation: The Greek version of the SarQoL ® questionnaire is a valid and reliable outcome measure for assessing patients with sarcopenia. The Greek SarQoL is recommended to be use in clinical settings and research. The Greek SarQoL ® questionnaire is available online www.sarqol.org .