Juergen Bauer

Background Anorexia of aging is characterized by an age‐associated reduction of appetite, whose aetiology in most cases is multifactorial and which often triggers malnutrition. The Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) is an established screening tool. This study aimed to investigate reliability, validity, and feasibility of its telephone administration (T‐SNAQ) in German community‐dwelling older adults. Methods This cross‐sectional single‐centre study recruited participants from April 2021 to September 2021. First, the SNAQ was translated into German according to an established methodology. After translation, reliability, construct validity, and feasibility of the T‐SNAQ were analysed. A convenience sample of community‐dwelling older adults aged ≥70 years was recruited. The following measurements were applied to all participants: T‐SNAQ, Mini Nutritional Assessment – Short Form (MNA‐SF), six‐item Katz index of independence in activities of daily living (ADL), eight‐item Lawton instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T‐MoCA); FRAIL scale, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS‐15) and Charlson co‐morbidity index as well as daily caloric and protein intake. Results One hundred twenty participants (59.2% female) with a mean age of 78.0 ± 5.8 years were included in the present study. The percentage of participants identified with poor appetite based on T‐SNAQ was 20.8% ( n = 25). T‐SNAQ showed a good internal reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.64 and a good test–retest reliability [intraclass coefficient of 0.95 ( P < 0.05)]. Regarding construct validity, T‐SNAQ was significantly positively correlated with MNA‐SF ( r = 0.213), T‐MoCA ( r = 0.225), daily energy ( r = 0.222) and protein intake ( r = 0.252) ( P < 0.05). It also demonstrated a significant negative association with GDS‐15 ( r = −0.361), FRAIL scale ( r = −0.203) and Charlson co‐morbidity index ( r = −0.272). Regarding applicability, the mean time for T‐SNAQ was 95 s and completion rate was 100%. Conclusions The T‐SNAQ is a feasible screening instrument for anorexia of aging in community‐dwelling older adults via telephone interviews.

Background and Objectives The life-space assessment (LSA) is the most commonly used questionnaire to assess life-space mobility (LSM) in older adults, with well-established psychometric properties for face-to-face (FF) administration. However, these properties have not yet been explicitly studied when the LSA is administered by telephone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concurrent and construct validity, test–retest reliability, responsiveness, and feasibility of a telephone-based LSA version (TE-LSA) in older adults. Research Design and Methods Fifty community-dwelling older adults (age = 79.3 ± 5.3 years) participated in the study. Concurrent validity was assessed against the FF-LSA construct validity by testing 15 a priori hypotheses on expected associations with LSM determinants, test–retest reliability via 2 telephone surveys 1 week apart, responsiveness after 8.5 ± 1.8 months in participants with improved, stable, and worsened mobility defined by 2 external criteria, and feasibility by the completion rate/time and ceiling/floor effects. Results Good to excellent agreement between the 2 different administration methods was found (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC2,1] = 0.73–0.98). Twelve of 15 (80%) hypotheses on construct validity were confirmed. ICCs for test–retest reliability were good to excellent (ICC2,1 = 0.62–0.94). Minimal detectable change for the TE-LSA total score was 20 points. Standardized response means were large for worsened (0.88), moderate for improved (0.68), and trivial for stable participants (0.04). Completion rate was 100% and mean completion time was 5.5 ± 3.3 min. No ceiling or floor effects were observed for the TE-LSA total score. Discussion and Implications Telephone administration of the LSA is valid, reliable, responsive, and feasible for assessing LSM in community-dwelling older adults.