title: The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the University of Toronto Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are various instruments to assess quality of life (QoL) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study is to determine the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the University of Toronto Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale (AFSS).
  
  
  METHODS
  The AFSS and Short Form-36 (SF-36) were completed by 130 patients with documented AF. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society Severity in Atrial Fibrillation (SAF) scale and European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) scale were also utilized by the attending physicians. To assess test-retest reliability, the AFSS was readministered to 47 clinically stable patients at a 1-month follow-up visit. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reproducibility, and construct validity were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 63.1 + 10.9 years and 58.5% of patients were male. The outcome scores of the Turkish version of the AFSS showed good correlations with theoretically related SF-36 domains. Additionally, AFSS outcome scores showed a linear correlation with the SAF and EHRA scores. Cronbach's alpha values for internal consistency were consistent and similar with the English language version of the AFSS. Intraclass correlation coefficients for reproducibility exceeded 0.80 for every item.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Convergent-divergent and known-groups validity and reliability were established for the Turkish version of the University of Toronto AFSS.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University Atatürk Education and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey. nkahya77@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Nihan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kahya Eren
authors.forename: Selcen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yakar Tülüce
authors.forename: Barış
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kiliçaslan
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nazli
authors.forename: Oktay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ergene
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014177:Translations; D014421:Turkey