Validation of the Chinese version of Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 in Chinese patients with cancer

The purpose of this research is to study the validation of the Chinese version of Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 in measuring fatigue status of the patients with cancer in China. The original English version of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 was translated into a Chinese version, which was applied to measure the fatigue status of cancer patients prior to commencing chemotherapy and during the last week of chemotherapy, respectively. The reliability and criterion-related validity of the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 were assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha and Pearson correlation coefficients. The construct validity was analyzed by employing factor analysis. There were three dimensions in the Chinese version of the MFI-20, which measures the physical, mental, and spiritual fatigue of patients with cancer. All of the correlation coefficients between EORTC QLQ-C30V3.0 and MFI-20 were statistically significant (P < 0.0001). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was more than 0.8 and 0.7 for total MFI-20 and for the three dimensions of the Chinese version of the MFI-20, respectively. The Chinese version of the MFI-20 is a reliable and valid instrument to assess fatigue in Chinese patients with cancer.