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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Dimensions underlying frailty indicators in the Kihon Checklist.

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Aim Frailty has become a current topic of debate in recent years among researchers as a key concept of clinical care in old age. One of the scales developed for its measurement is the Kihon Checklist (KCL). However, the dimensionality of the KCL has not been tested yet, and therefore the aim of the present study was to validate its dimensional structure. Methods This was a cross-sectional study carried out between March and September 2018 in Valencia province (Spain). Participation in the study was voluntary. A total of 251 participants were sampled. They answered sociodemographic and medical indicators, as well as five frailty scales, including the KCL. Results Five confirmatory models with different dimensionalities were tested and none of them fit the data well. Therefore, all models were depurated. Goodness of fit indices showed that the best fitting model was a one-factor solution, with 15 items. This reduced model had very good estimates of internal consistency and showed good levels of criterion-related validity with four different measures of frailty. Conclusions This work constitutes the first study on the dimensionality of the KCL and the first validation of the Spanish version in a Spanish sample of community-dwelling older adults. A translation exists into Spanish, but there are no data on the reliability and validity of the KCL for its use in Spanish-speaking countries. The KCL, once depurated, offers a valid and reliable measure of frailty to be used in Spanish-speaking populations. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 982-987.