Cross-sectional evaluation of the sarcopenia quality of life (Sarqol) questionnaire: Translation and validation of its psychometric properties

Abstract

Background: The SarQoL, a quality-of-life questionnaire specific to sarcopenia, was developed in 2015 and has since been translated into a number of other languages. The main reason to introduce this new Ukrainian version of the questionnaire was to measure sarcopenic individuals’ perceptions regarding their positions in life in the context of their culture and value systems. Methods: The questionnaire was translated using a forward-backward approach with a pre-test. A total of 49 participants were recruited for the validation study. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the Ishii test. The validation analyses included discriminative power, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects, construct validity, and test-retest reliability. We compared the SarQoL questionnaire to the Short-Form 36 and the EuroQoL-5 Dimensions. Results: A total of 28 participants out of 49 were categorized as probably sarcopenic. They had a significantly lower quality of life (overall score 58.43±17.13 vs. 69.89±13.31; p=0.014). The internal consistency was excellent (α=0.898), with none of the domains showing a disproportionate influence on the homogeneity of the questionnaire. Convergent construct validity was also confirmed. The results indicated a near-perfect degree of test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The first Ukrainian version of the questionnaire is equivalent to the available original English version.