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Evaluation of a Swedish version of the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory

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Abstract

Purpose

To psychometrically evaluate a Swedish version of the Quick Environment Exposure Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI), originally developed in the United States, which is a sensitive and fast questionnaire instrument with five scales used to investigate chemical intolerance.

Methods

Ninety non-intolerant, 67 mildly intolerant, and 126 moderately/severely intolerant individuals to environmental chemicals responded at test and retest (n = 69, 64, 120, respectively) occasions to the Swedish version of the QEESI.

Results

Good internal consistency (α = 0.74–0.95) and test–retest reliability (r = 0.78–0.93) was found in all scales, except for the internal consistency in the Masking Index (Kuder-Richardson coefficient = 0.10). All scales, but the Masking Index, further showed good convergent validity (somewhat lower in the Other Intolerences scale) and predominantly unidimensionality.

Conclusions

The Swedish version of the QEESI is reliable and valid for investigation of chemical intolerance, but the Masking Index scale does not represent a unified concept of exposure to masking agents.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Asthma and Allergy Association’s Research Fund to SN. We gratefully acknowledge Eva Bringlöv for excellent assistance. We are most thankful to Dr. Claudia Miller for permission to translate the QEESI to Swedish and evaluate that version for future use. We declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Steven Nordin & Linus Andersson

  2. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden

    Steven Nordin

Authors
  1. Steven Nordin
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  2. Linus Andersson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Nordin.

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Nordin, S., Andersson, L. Evaluation of a Swedish version of the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 83, 95–104 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-009-0427-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-009-0427-4

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