Abstract
Recently, SarQoL® (Sarcopenia and Quality of Life), a quality of life (QoL) questionnaire specific to sarcopenia, was successfully developed. For practical reasons, there is a great interest in validating this questionnaire in other populations. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to translate and adjust the SarQoL® into Polish and to standardize the validity of this method for the assessment of sarcopenic individuals in Poland with regard to psychometric properties. The English version was used for the translation process. A total of 106 community-dwelling Caucasian subjects aged 73.3 ± 5.94 years (65.1% females) were studied, with 60 participants being diagnosed sarcopenic. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation was carried out in five phases according to specific standard guidelines. There were no major linguistic issues in the translation process. The data confirmed a good discriminant validity, i.e., significantly lower scores for all domains (reduced global QoL in sarcopenic subjects compared to non-sarcopenic ones; 54.9 ± 16.5 vs. 63.3 ± 17.1, p = 0.013), and high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.92). The significant correlation of the SarQoL® scores with those of other questionnaires (SF-36v2® Health Survey and EuroQoL-5-Dimension) that are supposed to have similar dimensions indicated the consistent construct validity of the SarQoL®-PL questionnaire. No floor/ceiling effects were found. An excellent agreement was found between the test and the re-test (intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC): 0.99). The first Polish version of the SarQoL® questionnaire is valid and consistent and therefore may be used with reliability for clinical and research purposes regarding QoL assessment of sarcopenic individuals. However, further research, in particular prospective studies, is needed to determine potential limitations and the suitability of the new tool for the Polish scenario and specificity.
Highlights
Sarcopenia is regarded as a progressive decrease of skeletal muscle mass and function with ageing
SarQoL® (Sarcopenia and Quality of Life), a quality of life (QoL) questionnaire specific to sarcopenia, was developed and validated [12]. This novel, self-administrated, multidimensional questionnaire designed for community-dwelling elderly subjects aged 65 years and older is composed of 55 items, which are translated into 22 questions rated on a four-point Likert scale, and includes seven major domains of dysfunction concerning the condition of sarcopenia: physical and mental health, locomotion, body composition, functionality, activities of daily living, leisure activities, and fears
Body mass index (BMI), hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, or diastolic blood pressure were found between the groups
Summary
Sarcopenia is regarded as a progressive decrease of skeletal muscle mass and function with ageing. Sarcopenia is apparently associated with various health consequences and outcomes, such as physical impairment, increased risk of falls, fractures, hospitalization rate, depression, and mortality and is considered an important public health issue for aging societies in the context of demographic decline [7,8,9,10,11] The majority of these age-related conditions resulting from sarcopenia may potentially impact quality of life and self-esteem. SarQoL® (Sarcopenia and Quality of Life), a quality of life (QoL) questionnaire specific to sarcopenia, was developed and validated [12] This novel, self-administrated, multidimensional questionnaire designed for community-dwelling elderly subjects aged 65 years and older is composed of 55 items, which are translated into 22 questions rated on a four-point Likert scale, and includes seven major domains of dysfunction concerning the condition of sarcopenia: physical and mental health, locomotion, body composition, functionality, activities of daily living, leisure activities, and fears. These analyses of SarQoL® have demonstrated its ability to discriminate sarcopenic subjects from non-sarcopenic ones based on their health-related QoL
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
