Validation and reliability of the Turkish version of the lipedema screening questionnaire.

Abstract

Objectives: Lipedema is a chronic condition that is often underdiagnosed. Clinical overlap with other disorders and the absence of specific diagnostic tools may delay diagnosis. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the lipedema screening questionnaire (LSQ) into Turkish and evaluate its validity and reliability.

Patients and methods: The study was conducted with 52 female patients diagnosed with lipedema and 49 healthy female volunteers who attended a physical medicine and rehabilitation outpatient clinic between August 2024 and January 2025. Following Beaton's guidelines, the questionnaire was translated into Turkish and culturally adapted. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used to evaluate construct validity, while Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess internal consistency. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the discriminative ability and optimal cut-off score of the questionnaire.

Results: The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient was 0.866, and Bartlett's test result was significant (p<0.001), supporting the suitability of the data for factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis identified a two-factor structure explaining 63.5% of the total variance. CFA showed acceptable model fit (comparative fit index: 0.9668; root mean square error of approximation: 0.0782). Internal consistency was high, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.866. In ROC analysis, the questionnaire demonstrated excellent discriminative ability, with an area under the curve of 0.970 (95% confidence interval: 0.942-0.999; p<0.001). The optimal cut-off score was 8.5, corresponding to 90.4% sensitivity and 91.8% specificity.

Conclusion: The Turkish version of the LSQ appears to be a valid and reliable tool for the preliminary screening of individuals at risk for lipedema in clinical settings.