The first questionnaire in Spanish on quality of life for people with diabetic foot is validated in Lleida

The diabetic foot is a chronic complication that negatively affects the quality of life of patients with diabetes. Until now, no validated questionnaire existed in Spain to measure the quality of life of these people. Researchers from the Institute for Biomedical Research of Lleida (IRBLleida), the University of Lleida, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) in Badalona, the University of Alicante and the Centre for Networked Biomedical Research on Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) have recently published the questionnaire in Spanish and its validation in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

The aim of the study was to adapt and validate the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Scale-Short Form (DFS-SF) questionnaire to the Spanish population with diabetes. In its original English version, this questionnaire, which has been validated for use in China, Greece and Portugal, has demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting changes in the condition of ulcers and optimum psychometric properties and reproducibility. "This questionnaire is available to all clinicians who work with these patients in Spain", explained Dídac Mauricio, director of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at the Hospital de Sant Pau, head of the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition Group at the Sant Pau Research Institute and leader of the CIBERDEM group which carried out the study. The questionnaire is also available on the IRBLleida website.

A total of 141 patients with diabetic foot ulcers at the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital in Lleida participated in the study. At the beginning of the study and during follow-up, patients were given the generic questionnaires SF-36 and EQ-5D as reference tools. The results showed that the Spanish version of the DFS-SF questionnaire has good internal consistency, validity, excellent reproducibility and optimal sensitivity to changes in ulcer condition. "Therefore, this is the first questionnaire validated in Spain to measure the quality of life of people with diabetic foot ulcers, and it can become a very useful tool in the clinical and research field of diabetic foot in our country" Mauricio said.

Reference article:

Martinez-Gonzalez, D.; Dòria, M.; Martínez-Alonso, M.; Alcubierre, N.; Valls, J.; Verdú-Soriano, J.; Granado-Casas, M.; Mauricio, D. Adaptation and Validation of the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Scale-Short Form in Spanish Subjects. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 2497.