Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41954818›Full record

ArticleClinical rheumatology2026

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and construct validity of the Arabic Scleroderma Assessment Questionnaire in Egyptian patients with systemic sclerosis.

Omima Ahmed El-Farra, Manal Hassanien, Amira M Ibrahim, Wedad Mahmoud Ghazy, Enas Abolkheir Abdelaleem, Nesrin Ahmed Aboeladl, Nevine Mohannad, Khaled A A Abdelgalil, Gehad Gamal Maghraby, Asmaa Khalifa Ahmed and 8 more

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Article in Clinical rheumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Omima Ahmed El-FarraRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt. omima.sayed@mu.edu.eg.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3392-6603
Manal HassanienRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
Amira M IbrahimRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El Sheikh, Egypt.
Wedad Mahmoud GhazyRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
Enas Abolkheir AbdelaleemRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.
Nesrin Ahmed AboeladlRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt.
Nevine MohannadInternal Medicine and Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University Hospitals, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Khaled A A AbdelgalilRheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt.
Gehad Gamal MaghrabyRheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Asmaa Khalifa AhmedRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Hanan ElsaadanyRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Salma A KhalilInternal Medicine Department, Rheumatology Division, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Samah Ismail NasefRheumatology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
Samar TharwatRheumatology and Immunology Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Osman HammamRheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Medicine, New Valley University, New Valley, Egypt.
Shaimaa Moustafa HafezPublic Health and Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.
Nevin HammamRheumatology, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
Tamer A GheitaRheumatology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSystemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis, vasculopathy, and internal organ involvement, resulting in substantial symptom burden and impaired quality of life. Reliable patient-reported outcome measures adapted to Arabic-speaking populations are lacking.

objectiveTo develop a cross-cultural adaptation of the English version of the Scleroderma Assessment Questionnaire to the Arabic language (Ar-SAQ) and to assess its reliability and construct validity in SSc patients. PATIENTS AND

methodsTranslation and cultural adaptation process followed internationally accepted guidelines for patient-reported outcomes. After expert evaluation and pretesting for semantic clarity, the final version was administered to 193 SSc patients. Test-retest reliability was assessed over four weeks using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity was analysed through correlation between total and domain scores of the Arabic questionnaire and the European Scleroderma Trial and Research Group activity index.

resultsPatients included 171 females (88.6%) with a mean age of 44.6 ± 10.6 years. The Ar-SAQ demonstrated satisfactory reproducibility, with ICC results ranging from moderate to excellent (0.50-0.95). The musculoskeletal, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and total index of disease status indices showed good to excellent reliability (ICC = 0.90-0.95). The vascular index showed moderate reproducibility (0.50), consistent with naturally fluctuating vascular symptoms in SSc. Construct validity was confirmed by a significant positive correlation with the European Scleroderma Trial and Research Group activity index.

conclusionThe Ar-SAQ is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing patient-reported disease status in Egyptian SSc patients and may serve as a foundation for further validation in other Arabic-speaking populations. Key Points • A culturally adapted Arabic version of the Scleroderma Assessment Questionnaire was developed following standardized cross-cultural adaptation guidelines. • The Arabic Scleroderma Assessment Questionnaire demonstrated good to excellent reliability and acceptable construct validity in Egyptian patients with systemic sclerosis. • This instrument provides a feasible patient-reported measure of disease status that may support clinical assessment and research in Arabic-speaking populations.

Indexed as

Scleroderma, SystemicAdultCross-Cultural ComparisonEgyptFemaleHumansLanguageMaleMiddle AgedPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresQuality of LifeReproducibility of ResultsSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and QuestionnairesArabic languageCross-cultural adaptationPatient-reported outcome measuresReliability and validityScleroderma assessment questionnaireSystemic sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID41954818
PMCPMC13249707

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.