Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1998,86, 1249-1250. O Perceptual and Motor S U s 1998 INTERCORRELATIONS AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY O F LIMB MUSCLE-ACTION STRENGTHS OF PATIENTS WITH RENAL DISEASE ' RICHARD W. BOHANNON Szlmmary.-This study involved the retrospective analysis of instrumented mea- surements of strength from six muscle actions of 15 patients with renal disease. Most measurements were correlated significantly (mean Pearson r = ,781. The measurements also showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach a > .92). These findings extend those obtained in studies of healrhy individuals and patients with stroke and suggest the presence ol a common underlying construct, limb muscle strength. Researchers have demonstrated that instrumented measures of the strength of Merent limb muscle actions tend to correlate significantly and to have high internal consistency in both healthy individuals (Bohannon, 1995b, 1997) and patients with stroke (Bohamon, 1995a, 1995b; Bohannon & Andrews, 1995). These findmgs suggest the presence of a common under- lying construct, lunb muscle strength, for healthy individuals and patients with stroke. Whether other types of patients also demonstrate significant correlations and internal consistency has not been established. The purpose of this brief report, therefore, is to describe the intercorrelations and inter- nal consistency of the h b muscle action strengths of patients with renal dis- ease. This retrospective analysis of documents involved the examination of a data base used in a previously ~ublishedreport (Bohannon, Hd, & Pal- meri, 1774). Within the data base were 15 subjects with complete strength testing data. The patients, who were all kidney transplant candidates, had a mean (range) age of 47.1 yr. (29-64) yr. Eleven were men. Five were &a- betic. Seven had a lalysis fistula (access site) in one of their upper extremi- ties. The h b muscle strengths of six actions were retrieved from the data base: grip, elbow flexion, shoulder abduction, ankle dorsdlexion, knee exten- sion, and hip abduction. All the strength measurements except grip were ob- tained with an Arnetek hand-held dynamometer. Grip was obtained with a Jamar hand-grip dynamometer. A Pearson correlation matrix was generated to describe intercorrelations among the measures of strength. Cronbach coef- ficients alpha were calculated to estimate the internal consistency of the strength measures. 'Address enquiries to R. W. Bohannon, Ed.D., Department of Physical Therapy, School of Ued Health, U-101, University of Connecticut, Srorrs, CT 06269.