Validation of the Italian version of the sarcopeniaspecific quality of life questionnaire (SarQoL®).

BACKGROUND

Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder that involves the accelerated loss of muscle mass and function leading to impaired quality of life (QoL). The SarQoL® (Sarcopenia Quality of Life), a self-administered questionnaire originally developed in French to measure the QoL in patients with sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the SarQoL®.

METHODS

This cross-sectional observational study enrolled Italian subjects aged ≥65 years who were able to comprehend the questionnaires. All of them completed the following questionnaires: SarQoL®, Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), EuroQol 5-Dimensions-5-Levels (EQ-5D-5L), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The SarQoL® psychometric properties (discriminative validity, internal consistency, test‒retest reliability, ceiling‒floor effects, convergent validity and divergent validity) were assessed. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 guidelines.

RESULTS

A total of 117 subjects were enrolled, of whom 23 (19.7 %) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. Discriminative power (between subjects with and without sarcopenia) was confirmed for the SarQoL® total score and for the majority of the domains (p < 0.0001). The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and test‒retest reliability (ICC = 0.78) were good. Neither ceiling or floor effects were observed. Convergent and divergent validity were supported by significant correlations with SF-36, EQ-5D-5L, and HADS.

CONCLUSION

The Italian version of the SarQoL® is an effective and reliable tool for assessing QoL in patients with sarcopenia. Our findings confirm its excellent psychometric properties and suggest that it is a useful tool for both clinical and research settings.