title: Development of a self-administrated quality of life questionnaire for sarcopenia in elderly subjects: the SarQoL.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The impact of sarcopenia on quality of life is currently assessed by generic tools. However, these tools may not detect subtle effects of this specific condition on quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to develop a sarcopenia-specific quality of life questionnaire (SarQoL, Sarcopenia Quality of Life) designed for community-dwelling elderly subjects aged 65 years and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were recruited in an outpatient clinic in Liège, Belgium.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sarcopenic subjects aged 65 years or older.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was articulated in the following four stages: (i) Item generation-based on literature review, sarcopenic subjects' opinion, experts' opinion, focus groups; (ii) Item reduction-based on sarcopenic subjects' and experts' preferences; (iii) Questionnaire generation-developed during an expert meeting; (iv) Pretest of the questionnaire-based on sarcopenic subjects' opinion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The final version of the questionnaire consists of 55 items translated into 22 questions rated on a 4-point Likert scale. These items are organised into seven domains of dysfunction: Physical and mental health, Locomotion, Body composition, Functionality, Activities of daily living, Leisure activities and Fears. In view of the pretest, the SarQoL is easy to complete, independently, in ∼10 min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The first version of the SarQoL, a specific quality of life questionnaire for sarcopenic subjects, has been developed and has been shown to be comprehensible by the target population. Investigations are now required to test the psychometric properties (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, divergent and convergent validity, discriminant validity, floor and ceiling effects) of this questionnaire.
authors.affiliation: Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beaudart
authors.affiliation: Division of Bone Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Biver
authors.affiliation: Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Reginster
authors.affiliation: Division of Bone Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzoli
authors.affiliation: Clinical Gerontology, CHU Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rolland
authors.affiliation: Frailty in Ageing Research Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bautmans
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Department, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petermans
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Department, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gillain
authors.affiliation: Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Buckinx
authors.affiliation: Department of French and Romance Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Beveren
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human and Social Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jacquemain
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human and Social Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Italiano
authors.affiliation: Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dardenne
authors.affiliation: Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bruyere
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: older people; quality of life; questionnaire; sarcopenia