Factor Analysis of the Brazilian Questionnaire on Adherence to Ketogenic Dietary Therapy: Keto-Check

Background: several strategies are used to assess adherence to ketogenic dietary therapies (KDTs), the most commonly used being ketonemia or ketonuria, despite their limitations. The purpose of this article is to carry out an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on the proposed Keto-check (adherence's KDT Brazilian questionnaire). Methods: there was a methodological study of a quantitative nature, complementary to the analysis realized previously, with a complimentary sample. The factorial analysis was performed with Factor software for parallel exploratory analysis, replicability, and confirmatory factor analysis. Graphical representation was created according to the number of factors resulting from the analysis. Results: 116 questionnaires were reached by complementary data collection (n = 69 actual data, complementing n = 47 previous data) through online forms. A polychoric correlation matrix suitability analysis resulted in a significant Bartlett statistic (p = 0.0001) and a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test of 0.56. The parallel factorial analysis resulted in two factors, graphically represented as efficacy and adherence. A confirmatory factor analysis, considered fair, indicated an RMSEA of 0.063, NNFI resulted in 0.872, CFI in 0.926, and GFI in 0.897. Conclusion: this study confirms the validity of Keto-check through a more detailed analysis. Adherence is the key to improving the effectiveness of KDTs; therefore, improving knowledge about it can lead to a better healthcare approach.

Automated summary

This study confirms the validity of Keto-check as an effective tool for assessing adherence to ketogenic dietary therapies. The effectiveness and adherence of dietary therapies are key to improving their outcomes, and understanding them better can lead to better healthcare approaches.