Development and validation of a short version of the Sarcopenia Quality of Life questionnaire: the SF-SarQoL

Purpose To facilitate the measurement of quality of life in sarcopenia, we set out to reduce the number of items in the previously validated Sarcopenia Quality of Life (SarQoL(R)) questionnaire, and to evaluate the clinimetric properties of this new short form. Methods The item reduction process was carried out in two phases. First, information was gathered through item-impact scores from older people (n = 1950), a Delphi method with sarcopenia experts, and previously published clinimetric data. In the second phase, this information was presented to an expert panel that decided which of the items to include in the short form. The newly created SFSarQoL was then administered to older, community-dwelling participants who previously participated in the SarcoPhAge study. We examined discriminative power, internal consistency, construct validity, test-retest reliability, structural validity and examined item parameters with a graded response model (IRT). Results The questionnaire was reduced from 55 to 14 items, a 75% reduction. A total of 214 older, community-dwelling people were recruited for the validation study. The clinimetric evaluation showed that the SF-SarQoL(R) can discriminate on sarcopenia status [EWGSOP2 criteria; 34.52 (18.59-43.45) vs. 42.86 (26.56-63.69); p = 0.043], is internally consistent (alpha = 0.915, omega = 0.917) and reliable [ICC = 0.912 (0.847-0.942)]. A unidimensional model was fitted (CFI = 0.978; TLI = 0.975; RMSEA = 0.108, 90% CI 0.094-0.123; SRMR = 0.055) with no misfitting items and good response category separation. Conclusions A new, 14-item, short form version of the Sarcopenia Quality of Life questionnaire has been developed and shows good clinimetric properties.

Automated summary

The study aimed to reduce the number of items in the SarQoL questionnaire for measuring quality of life in sarcopenia, resulting in a new 14-item short form (SF-SarQoL) with good clinimetric properties. The SF-SarQoL showed discriminative power, internal consistency, reliability, and a unidimensional model fit, indicating its effectiveness in assessing quality of life in older adults with sarcopenia.