An Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of EAT-10: A Malayalam Version

The Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) is a 10-item self-administered questionnaire that assesses the severity of dysphagia symptoms, the impact of dysphagia on quality of life and treatment efficacy. EAT-10 has been adapted into several languages, including Malayalam. However, the information on the psychometric properties of EAT-10 MALAYALAM is not known. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EAT-10 MALAYALAM. EAT-10 MALAYALAM questionnaire was administered to two groups of native Malayalam-speaking participants. Group 1 consisted of a total of 110 participants (76 males and 34 females) with a mean age of 52.9 ± 13.5 years diagnosed with oropharyngeal dysphagia. Group 2 consisted of 110 age and gender-matched healthy participants with normal swallow function and no history and symptoms of swallowing disorders. The test–retest reliability was assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient between the test and the retest scores; internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and Known groups validity was evaluated by comparing the EAT-10 MALAYALAM scores between the participants of both groups. The results of Spearman’s correlation coefficient showed 0.99, indicating that the EAT-10-MALAYALAM has excellent test–retest reliability. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94, indicating strong internal consistency. Mann–Whitney U test showed significant differences in the scores of EAT-10-MALAYALAM between the participants of both groups. Therefore, it was inferred that EAT-10-MALAYALAM had good known groups validity. The EAT-10-MALAYALAM is a valid and reliable tool for screening Malayalam-speaking dysphagia patients.