Validity of the short version of the Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items in Brazilian patients with chronic musculoskeletal dysfunction in the upper limb.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to validate the structural and criterion validity of the short version of the Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items in Brazilian patients with musculoskeletal dysfunction in the upper limb.

METHODS

The structure of the Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items and with one domain was tested using confirmatory factor analysis with model fit evaluated using comparative fit index, Tucker-Lewis index, root mean square error of approximation, standardized root mean square residual, and chi-square/degree of freedom. Criterion validity was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) to correlate the Brazilian versions of Upper Limb Functional Index with 25 items and Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items.

RESULTS

We included 150 patients, mostly women, with an average age of 52.21±12.09 years, diagnosed with chronic musculoskeletal dysfunction in the upper limbs. The Upper Limb Functional Indexwith 10 items showed sufficient fit indices (CFI=0.970, TLI=0.962, RMSEA=0.054, SRMR=0.078, chi-square/DF=1.43). Criterion validity showed an excellent correlation between Upper Limb Functional Indexwith 25 items and Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items, with rho=0.900 (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items demonstrated sufficient unidimensional structure and high correlation with the original version. We recommend the use of Upper Limb Functional Index with 10 items for assessing upper limb functioning in Brazilian patients with chronic musculoskeletal dysfunction.