The Turkish Validity and Reliability Study of the Rapid Sarcopenia Screening Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Geriatrics
• Public Health
• Clinical Assessment

Background:

• Sarcopenia poses a significant health challenge for older adults.
• Effective screening tools are crucial for early detection and intervention.
• The Rapid Sarcopenia Screening (RSS) tool offers a practical approach to identify sarcopenia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Rapid Sarcopenia Screening (RSS) tool.
• To determine if the Turkish RSS is a suitable screening method for sarcopenia in older adults in Türkiye.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 150 adults aged 60+ in Türkiye.
• Linguistic validation of the RSS tool followed by assessment of construct validity (correlation with SARC-F).
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), intra-rater and inter-rater reliability (ICCs), and discriminant validity (ROC curves) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The Turkish RSS demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.768).
• Strong inverse correlation with SARC-F (rho = -0.688) supported construct validity.
• Excellent reliability (intra-rater ICC = 0.980, inter-rater ICC = 0.963) and good discriminatory power (AUC = 0.817) were observed.

Conclusions:

• The Turkish version of the RSS is a valid, reliable, and practical tool for screening sarcopenia in older adults.
• Its ease of use and self-reported nature make it feasible for routine clinical settings.
• The Turkish RSS shows potential as an alternative screening method for sarcopenia in Türkiye.