title: Validation of an Arabic version of Fatigue Severity Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and test the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS-Ar) that can be used to measure fatigue in Arabic patients with disorders where fatigue is a major symptom.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forward and backward translations of FSS were undertaken to develop an Arabic version. The validity and reliability of the FSS-Ar was then tested on 28 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 24 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and 31 healthy subjects. Exploratory factor analysis and hypothesis testing methods were used to examine construct validity. The correlation between FSS-Ar and the vitality domain of the RAND 36-Item Health was examined to test construct validity. The study was conducted at the King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between February and June 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using a score of ≥4.05 to define fatigue, 39 of 52 (75%) participants were fatigued compared with 10 out of 31 (32%) healthy participants. The correlation between the FSS-Ar and the vitality domain of the RAND-36 was acceptable (r = -0.46). Factor analysis showed that items of the FSS-Ar measured one underlying construct, namely, fatigue. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the FSS-Ar was acceptable (intraclass correlation coefficient model 2,1 = 0.80; Cronbach's alpha = 0.84).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Arabic version of the FSS demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and was able to differentiate between patients with SLE or MS, and healthy subjects.
authors.affiliation: College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail. hsobayel@ksu.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Hana I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Al-Sobayel
authors.forename: Hind A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Al-Hugail
authors.forename: Ranyah M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: AlSaif
authors.forename: Nada M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Albawardi
authors.forename: Ali H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Alnahdi
authors.forename: Abdulkader M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Daif
authors.forename: Hussein F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Al-Arfaj
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations; D055815:Young Adult