Development of the Japanese version of the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire and its simplified versions, and evaluation of their reliability, validity, and reproducibility

• Main Author: Yuko Tokudome
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Epidemiological Association 2017-11-01
• Series: Journal of Epidemiology
• Subjects: Appetite; Development of questionnaires; Japanese elderly; Reliability; Validity
• Online Access: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jea/27/11/27_JE54/_pdf/-char/ja
• ISSN: 0917-5040; 1349-9092

Background: Because few Japanese questionnaires assess the elderly's appetite, there is an urgent need to develop an appetite questionnaire with verified reliability, validity, and reproducibility. Methods: We translated and back-translated the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ), which has eight items, into Japanese (CNAQ-J), as well as the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ-J), which includes four CNAQ-J-derived items. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the CNAQ-J structure based on data of 649 Japanese elderly people in 2013, including individuals having a certain degree of cognitive impairment, and we developed the SNAQ for the Japanese elderly (SNAQ-JE) according to an exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analyses on the appetite questionnaires were conducted to probe fitting to the model. We computed Cronbach's α coefficients and criterion-referenced/-related validity figures examining associations of the three appetite battery scores with body mass index (BMI) values and with nutrition-related questionnaire values. Test–retest reproducibility of appetite tools was scrutinized over an approximately 2-week interval. Results: An exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the CNAQ-J was constructed of one factor (appetite), yielding the SNAQ-JE, which includes four questions derived from the CNAQ-J. The three appetite instruments showed almost equivalent fitting to the model and reproducibility. The CNAQ-J and SNAQ-JE demonstrated satisfactory reliability and significant criterion-referenced/-related validity values, including BMIs, but the SNAQ-J included a low factor-loading item, exhibited less satisfactory reliability and had a non-significant relationship to BMI. Conclusions: The CNAQ-J and SNAQ-JE may be applied to assess the appetite of Japanese elderly, including persons with some cognitive impairment.