Validation of the Dutch version of the Swallowing Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (DSWAL-QoL) and the adjusted DSWAL-QoL (aDSWAL-QoL) using item analysis with the Rasch model: a pilot study

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of the subjects (N = 108)

Characteristic	Dys (N = 35)		DysLC (N = 43)		LC (N = 30)
Age (years)
Mean (SD) (Min, Max)	62	(13.01) (35–89)	77	(11.04) (52–94)	81	(14.65) (20–95)
Gender, N, %
Male	23	65.7	22	51.2	12	40.0
Female	12	34.3	21	48.8	18	60.0
Etiology, N, %
Stroke	14	40.0	23	53.5	4	13.3
Head trauma					1	3.3
Head and neck cancer	17	48.6	2	4.7	0	0.0
Parkinson’s disease	1	2.9	6	14.0	4	13.3
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	1	2.9
Multiple sclerosis	1	2.9
Corticobasal degeneration	1	2.9
Presbyphagia			8	18.6
Dementia			3	7.0	18	60.0
Depression					3	10.0
Cerebral palsy			1	2.3
Dysphagia (MASA)
Mean (SD)	157.31	(16.68)	160.93	(10.27)	188.67	(5.41)
Dysphagia, N, %
Severe (≤138)	7	20.0	1	2.3
Moderate (≤139-167)	16	45.7	27	62.8
Mild (≤168-177)	12	34.3	15	34.9
Normal swallowing (≤178-200)	0	0	0	0	30	100.0
Aspiration, N, %
Severe (≤140)	8	22.9	3	7.0
Moderate (≤148)	3	8.6	3	7.0
Mild (≤149-169)	15	42.9	31	72.1
No aspiration (≤170-200)	9	25.7	6	14.0	30	100.0
MMSE
Mean (SD) (Min, Max)	28.37	(1.11) (27–30)	20.35	(4.85) (5–28)	19.10	(4.77) (4–26)
AAT
Visual Comprehension, Mean (SD)	56.09	(2.54)	39.84	(10.24)	38.77	(9.09)
Auditory Comprehension, Mean (SD)	55.43	(2.81)	36.37	(9.54)	34.90	(8.64)
Total score AAT, Mean (SD) (Min, Max)	111.54	(4.46) (107–120)	76.21	(17.69) (37–106)	73.67	(15.46) (31–95)
Highest completed education, N, %
Primary school	14	40.0	30	69.8	18	60.0
High school	12	34.3	11	25.6	11	36.7
University college	7	20.0	2	4.7	1	3.3
University	2	5.7
Place of living, N, %
Home	27	77.1	6	14.0	3	10.0
Nursing home	4	11.4	30	69.8	23	76.7
Hospital	1	2.9	5	11.6	1	3.3
Rehabilitation center	3	8.6	1	2.3	3	10.0
Assisted living facility			1	2.3

Abbreviations: Dys patients suffering from dysphagia, DysLC patients with dysphagia accompanied by language impairment and/or cognitive disorders, LC patients suffering from language impairment and/or cognitive disorders without the presence of dysphagia, SD standard deviation, Min Minimum, Max Maximum, N Number of persons, % percentage of people, MASA Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability, MMSE Mini Mental State Examination, AAT Akense Afasie Test. Note that a portion of the data was published in a previous validation study of the aDSWAL-QoL [13]

ISSN: 1477-7525