BackgroundNearly half of all patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) will develop cognitive dysfunction. Studies highlighted from no/weak impact to a strong impact of cognitive impairment on quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to assess the impact of cognitive dysfunction on self-reported QoL in MS patients while considering key confounding factors.MethodsDesign: cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: MS patients of any disease subtype. Data collection: sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status, education level, and occupational activity) and clinical data (MS subtype, disease duration); MS disability (Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS); depression (Beck Depression Inventory); fatigue (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale); QoL (SF36 and MusiQoL); and neuropsychological performance (Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests, BRB-N). Statistical analysis: multiple linear regressions (forward-stepwise selection).ResultsOne hundred and twenty-four patients were enrolled. Performance on BRB-N subtests varied widely (6% to 70% abnormal). The BRB-N classified 37-78% of the patients as cognitively impaired, depending on the definition of cognitive impairment. No links were found between the MusiQoL index and cognitive subtests, whereas marital status, EDSS, and depression were found to be independent predictive factors.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated the weak and scarce association between cognitive impairment and QoL, when the key confounding factors were considered. These results need to be confirmed with larger samples and more accurate tests of cognitive function.
BackgroundCognitive impairment occurs in about 50% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and the use of self-reported outcomes for evaluating treatment and managing care among subjects with cognitive dysfunction has been questioned. The aim of this study was to provide new evidence about the suitability of self-reported outcomes for use in this specific population by exploring the internal structure, reliability and external validity of a specific quality of life (QoL) instrument, the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life questionnaire (MusiQoL).Methods Design: cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: MS patients of any disease subtype. Data collection: sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status, education level, and occupational activity) and clinical data (MS subtype, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration); QoL (MusiQoL and SF36); and neuropsychological performance (Stroop color-word test). Statistical analysis: confirmatory factor analysis, item-dimension correlations, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, Rasch statistics, relationships between MusiQoL dimensions and other parameters.Principal FindingsOne hundred and twenty-four consecutive patients were enrolled. QoL scores did not differ between the 69 cognitively non-impaired patients and the 55 cognitively impaired patients, except for the symptoms dimension. The confirmatory factor analysis performed among the impaired subjects showed that the structure of the questionnaire matched with the initial structure of the MusiQoL. The unidimensionality of the MusiQoL dimensions was preserved, and the internal validity indices were satisfactory and close to those of the reference population.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study suggests that executive dysfunction did not compromise the reliability and the validity of the self-reported QoL questionnaires.
BackgroundMemory disturbances, in particular episodic verbal memory dysfunction, are the most frequent cognitive impairment observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The use of self-reported outcomes for evaluating treatment and managing care of these subjects has been questioned. The aim of this study was to provide new evidence about the suitability of self-reported outcomes for use in this impaired population by exploring the internal structure, reliability and external validity of a specific quality of life (QoL) instrument, the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life questionnaire (MusiQoL).Methods Design: cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: MS patients of any disease subtype. Data collection: sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status, education level, and occupational activity) and clinical data (MS subtype, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration); QoL (MusiQoL and SF36); and memory performance (Grober and Buschke test). In accordance with the French norms of the memory test, non-impaired and impaired populations were defined for short- and long-delay free composites and for short- and long-delay total composites. For the 8 populations, psychometric properties were compared to those reported from the reference population assessed in the validation study.Principal FindingsOne hundred and twenty-four consecutive patients were enrolled. The analysis performed in the impaired populations showed that the questionnaire structure adequately matched the initial structure of the MusiQoL. The unidimensionality of the dimensions was preserved, and the internal/external validity indices were close to those of the reference population.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study suggests that memory dysfunction did not compromise the reliability or validity of the self-reported QoL questionnaires.
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