Psychometric Evaluation Of Appetite Questionnaires In Elderly Polish Patients With Heart Failure

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cardiology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Loss of appetite affects 40% of heart failure (HF) patients, impacting their health.
• Appetite assessment tools like the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ) and Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) are vital for older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the CNAQ and SNAQ questionnaires.
• To assess the validity and reliability of these appetite assessment tools in elderly Polish patients diagnosed with heart failure (HF).

Main Methods:

• The study included 103 hospitalized patients aged 65+ with HF (NYHA classes II-IV).
• Psychometric properties evaluated included data quality, homogeneity, factor structure, construct validity, and internal consistency.
• The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire was used for concurrent validity assessment.

Main Results:

• Both CNAQ and SNAQ confirmed a unidimensional factor structure.
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) yielded favorable psychometric values for both questionnaires.
• Strong correlations were observed between CNAQ, SNAQ, and the MNA (rs = 0.8 and 0.81, p <0.001).
• High internal consistency was reported for CNAQ (0.88) and SNAQ (0.86).

Conclusions:

• The CNAQ and SNAQ questionnaires possess positive psychometric properties.
• These tools are suitable for evaluating appetite in elderly Polish patients experiencing heart failure (HF).
• Validated appetite assessment can aid in nutritional management for HF patients.