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Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Sarcopenia and Quality of Life, a Quality of Life Questionnaire Specific for Sarcopenia

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Abstract

The Sarcopenia and Quality of Life questionnaire (SarQol®) is a self-administered multidimensional sarcopenia-specific tool designed for community-dwelling subjects aged 65 years and older. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the SarQoL®. A total of 252 participants aged ≥ 65 years voluntarily participated in this cross-sectional study. Handgrip strength and bioelectrical impedance analysis were used for sarcopenia screening. Discriminative power, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and floor and ceiling effects were analyzed. The generic 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the European Quality of Life 5-Dimension-3 Level (EQ-5D-3L), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were also used for convergent and divergent validity. Significant differences between sarcopenic (n = 66) and non-sarcopenic participants were observed for SarQoL® total score (p = 0.008) and for all domains except D2—locomotion. A high internal consistency of SarQoL® total score (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.904) was found, and significant domain-to-total score correlations were obtained (all p < .001). Test–retest data showed excellent reliability for SarQoL® total score (ICC = 0.99; 95%CI 0.98–0.99) and in all dimensions, except for D6—leisure and D7—fears activities (substantial). No floor and ceiling effects were observed for SarQoL® total score. SarQoL® total score showed good and acceptable correlations(p < 0.001) with the selected domains of the SF-36 and EQ-5D-3L which have similar dimensions (convergent validity). Low and non-significant correlations existed with anxiety, depression, and EQ-5D-3L self-care and pain/discomfort domains (divergent validity). The Spanish SarQoL® shows satisfactory general psychometric properties in Spanish-speaking older adults from Spain and is able to discriminate between older adults with and without sarcopenia.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Charlotte Beaudart and Mr. Anton Geerinck for their help. Dr Cruz-Jentoft performed the translated version of the SarQoL® (https://www.sarqol.org/en/sarqol_form). The authors of the present study certify that they comply with the ethical guidelines for authorship and publishing.

Funding

This work was supported by Junta de Andalucía (2019 0630002799, Group CTS026).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071, Jaén, Spain

    Raquel Fábrega-Cuadros, Antonio Martínez-Amat, David Cruz-Díaz, Agustín Aibar-Almazán & Fidel Hita-Contreras

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  1. Raquel Fábrega-Cuadros
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  2. Antonio Martínez-Amat
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  3. David Cruz-Díaz
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Contributions

Authors RFC and FHC designed the study and prepared the first draft of the paper. Authors RFC, AMA, DCD, AAA, and FHC contributed to the experimental work. Author FHC and RFC was responsible for statistical analysis of the data. All authors revised the paper critically for intellectual content and approved the final version. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

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Correspondence to Antonio Martínez-Amat.

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Conflict of interest

Raquel Fábrega-Cuadros, David Cruz-Díaz, Antonio Martínez-Amat, Agustín Aibar-Almazán and Fidel Hita-Contreras declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The study had ethical approval from Ethical Committee of the University of Jaén, Spain (NOV.18/2.TES).

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Fábrega-Cuadros, R., Martínez-Amat, A., Cruz-Díaz, D. et al. Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Sarcopenia and Quality of Life, a Quality of Life Questionnaire Specific for Sarcopenia. Calcif Tissue Int 106, 274–282 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-019-00635-9

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