Development and validation of Chinese version of clinician-rated submental fat rating scale
Published 09 May, 2025
Excess submental fat (SMF) is a common facial aesthetic concern, and scales play an important role in the assessment of SMF. Notably, current SMF scales are based on Caucasian populations, and genetic background has significant influence on SMF.
To that end, researchers at Peking Union Medical College Hospital developed and validated a five-point Chinese version of clinician-reported SMF rating scale. In the study, 150 volunteers were recruited., with photographs from the frontal, oblique view and lateral views taken and stitched together for each volunteer.
“The scale underwent an internal validation by three experienced plastic surgeons and an external validation process on 50 live volunteers by another six raters,” explains co-corresponding author Wenyun Ting. “The internal scale validation showed a good intra- and inter-rater consistency.”
During external validation, the intraclass correlation coefficient values for each rater were all higher than 0.850, indicating good intra-rater consistency. The inter-rater reliability test also reported good consistency.
“The scale’s validity, or its ability to accurately measure what it is designed to, is demonstrated by its coverage of the full range of SMF presentations, from a well-defined cervicomental angle with no SMF to extreme SMF without a visible jawline,” adds Wenyun Ting. “It offers a reliable tool for SMF evaluation in future research.”
Contact author: Wenyun Ting, Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China, Email: esayyting@163.com
Funder: This work was supported by National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding (grant no. 2022-PUMCH-A-208).
Conflict of interest: The authors have nothing to declare.
See the article: Chong Y, Li Y, Wang X, Yu N, Huang J, Cao H, Ting W, Long X. Development and validation of the Chinese version of the Clinician-reported submental fat rating scale. Chin J Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025;7(1):1–4. DOI:10.1016/j.cjprs.2024.12.003