Design, Assessment, and Validation of a Questionnaire to Estimate Food-Dependent Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis Prevalence in Latin American Population

Abstract

There are no epidemiological data about food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA) in Latin America. Our aim was to design, assess, and validate a questionnaire to identify potential FDEIA cases and/or estimate its prevalence by self-report. Questions were included in the instrument to address the main symptoms of FDEIA, type/intensity of physical activity, and anaphylaxis. The instrument’s clarity, comprehension and repeatability were evaluated. These evaluations were carried out by Hispanic people (Argentinians/Colombians/Mexicans/Peruvians), including nine individuals with medical diagnosis of FDEIA, and Brazilians. The Flesch–Kincaid score was calculated using the INFLESZ software. The instrument was translated from Spanish to Brazilian Portuguese following the translation back-translation procedure. The participants rated the two versions of the questionnaire as clear and comprehensible (three-point ordinal scale) and very easy to understand [0.33; average (scale 0–10)]. For these evaluations, the Kendall’s W coefficient showed strong agreement among raters (W = 0.80; average). The Flesch–Kincaid score was 63.5 in average (documents considered as readable). The Cohen’s Kappa coefficient showed almost perfect agreement in repeatability (0.88; average). The validation process of two versions of an instrument, used to identify potential FDEIA cases, was successfully carried out and it was found applicable to Latin American countries for generating epidemiological data.

Estimating the Self-reported Prevalence of Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity in the Korean Population

“…2 We believe that questionnaires translated into a different language or new sections designed should be evaluated at least for clarity and comprehension to ensure the correct interpretation of the questionnaire. 3,4 Second, the authors define self-reported NCGS as the reporting of symptoms at least once a week after gluten intake and a visual analog scale score of symptom discomfort ≥ 8. However, the rationale for an undemanding NCGS definition should be given since, from some studies, 5,6 some questions could be raised: why not consider the triggering of the symptoms always or most of the time after gluten ingestion?…”