Age- and Gender-Specific Normative Values for the Self-Reported Foot and Ankle Score (SEFAS)

BACKGROUND: The Self-Reported Foot and Ankle Score (SEFAS) is a foot- and ankle-specific patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) score that has been validated with good results for a variety of foot and ankle disorders. SEFAS is sensitive detecting improvement or deterioration after surgery. However, normative values, required to put a specific patient's summary score into perspective, are lacking.

METHODS: In this report, we included 396 population-based men and 383 women (43% of the invited individuals), age 20-89 years, who had completed the SEFAS questionnaire and questions regarding anthropometrics and health. We used Mann-Whitney U test to test gender differences and Spearman correlation coefficients to determine any association between SEFAS score and age. We present gender-specific median SEFAS scores with range and 5th to 95th percentiles and mean with standard deviation.

RESULTS: The SEFAS normative values were median 48 in men (range 11-48), 5th to 95th percentiles 31 to 48 and mean 45 ± 6, and in women, median 47 (range 6-48), 5th to 95th percentiles 23 to 48 and mean 43 ± 8 (gender comparison P < .001). SEFAS normative values correlated inversely with age (r = -0.12, P < .001).

CONCLUSION: In the general population, older age was associated with lower SEFAS value, and men had higher values than women. The population-based normative SEFAS values provided in this study can facilitate quantification of disability related to foot and ankle with and without surgery in the foot and ankle.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, prospective comparative study.