Translation and validation of a Swedish version of the BODY-Q: a patient-reported outcome instrument for weight loss and body contouring surgery

BODY-Q is self-administered questionnaire that evaluates appearance, function and symptoms related to bariatric- and body contouring surgery. The purpose of this article was to describe the translation process of a Swedish version of BODY-Q and to evaluate its criterion validity to the Swedish questionnaire Sahlgrenska Excess Skin Questionnaire, SESQ. Materials and methods BODY-Q was translated according to International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research's guidelines. The test of validity was made between parts which were comparable to SESQ. Both questionnaires were responded by 30 subjects who were suffering from excess skin after massive weight loss following bariatric surgery or dieting. Results The correlation between the two questionnaires varied. The parts of BODY-Q evaluating excess skin on the whole body and parts of the body had higher correlations (r(s) 0.328-0.766) than the parts evaluating side effects of excess skin and body-image (r(s) 0.103-0.574). Conclusion The Swedish version of BODY-Q has a good criterion validity and can be recommended in the healthcare for patients with excess skin after massive weight loss and for evaluation of the outcomes from reconstructive surgical procedures.