Translation and validation of a French version of the Xerostomia Inventory

This study aimed to assess the transcultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the French-language version of the Xerostomia Inventory (XI-Fr).

In total, 65 patients aged 65 years or older were recruited from three departments of a single French hospital. Patients had to have a Mini Mental State Examination score of 10 or more and be able to read and write French. The XI-Fr was administered to all patients after transcultural adaptation, at the start of the study, and again at 7 days after inclusion. We assessed reliability, acceptability, validity, internal consistency and reproducibility of the instrument in its French-language version.

The XI-Fr showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.79) and good reliability (intra-class correlation 0.83) at 7 days. Convergent validity showed no relation between salivary flow and XI-Fr score, as with the original instrument. Discriminant validity showed a positive correlation between the XI-Fr and the GOHAI, but no difference for the MNA or miniGDS scores.

The XI-Fr is a valid and reliable measure of xerostomia in French, with psychometric properties comparable to those of the original English-language version.