Validation and Cultural Adaptation of the Arabic Version of the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) is a 10-item self-administered questionnaire. It is a noninvasive tool to measure patients' perception of their swallowing problems. The purposes of the present study were to develop an Arabic version of the EAT-10 and to evaluate its validity, consistency, and reliability in the Arabic-speaking population with oropharyngeal dysphagia. SETTING AND DESIGN: This was a prospective study carried out at the Communication and Swallowing Disorders Unit, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Arabic EAT-10 was administered to 138 patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia and 83 control subjects. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were evaluated. Content and clinical validity were studied, and the EAT-10 results were compared across patients and control groups. RESULTS: The Arabic EAT-10 showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.92). Also, good test-retest reliability was found for the total scores of the Arabic EAT-10 (intraclass correlation = 0.73). There was a significant difference in Arabic EAT-10 scores between the oropharyngeal dysphagia group and the control group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the Arabic EAT-10 is a valid tool that can be used for screening of dysphagia-related problems in an Arabic-speaking population.