Measuring Outcomes for Dysphagia: Validity and Reliability of the European Portuguese Eating Assessment Tool (P-EAT-10)

• Published in: Dysphagia Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 511 - 520
• Main Authors: Nogueira, Dália Santos, Ferreira, Pedro Lopes, Reis, Elizabeth Azevedo, Lopes, Inês Sousa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Comparative analysis; Deglutition disorders; Deglutition Disorders - diagnosis; Deglutition Disorders - physiopathology; Eating; Feasibility Studies; Female; Gastroenterology; Hepatology; Humans; Imaging; Male; Measurement; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Original Article; Otorhinolaryngology; Radiology; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires; Portugal; Deglutition; Dysphagia assessment; Deglutition disorders; EAT-10
• ISSN: 0179-051X; 1432-0460; 1432-0460
• DOI: 10.1007/s00455-015-9630-5

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and the reliability of the European Portuguese version of the EAT-10 (P-EAT-10). This research was conducted in three phases: (i) cultural and linguistic adaptation; (ii) feasibility and reliability test; and (iii) validity tests. The final sample was formed by a cohort of 520 subjects. The P-EAT-10 index was compared for socio-demographic and clinic variables. It was also compared for both dysphagic and non-dysphagic groups as well as for the results of the 3Oz wst. Lastly, the P-EAT-10 scores were correlated with the EuroQol Group Portuguese EQ-5D index. The Cronbach’s α obtained for the P-EAT-10 scale was 0.952 and it remained excellent even if any item was deleted. The item-total and the intraclass correlation coefficients were very good. The P-EAT-10 mean of the non-dysphagic cohort was 0.56 and that of the dysphagic cohort was 14.26, the mean comparison between the 3Oz wst groups and the P-EAT-10 scores were significant. A significant higher perception of QoL was also found among the non-dysphagic subjects. P-EAT-10 is a valid and reliable measure that may be used to document dysphagia which makes it useful both for screening in clinical practice and in research.