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BackgroundThe relationship between cognitive assessment results in multiple sclerosis (MS) and performance in daily activities (DAs) remains unclear. Our study aimed to evaluate the relationship between cognitive functions (CF) measured by tests, performance in DAs, and the perception of CF in patients and their caregivers (CG) in MS.MethodsThe Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery was used to evaluate cognitive status. We created an ad hoc questionnaire (DaQ) to assess performance in DAs not requiring specific motor skills. We used the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ) to measure each patient self-judgment and caregiver’s perception of CF.ResultsForty-nine patients and their caregivers were included in the study. Significant correlations were found between the BICAMS and the DaQ (Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT): r = − 0.48, p < 0.001; California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT): r = − 0.33, p = 0.01; Brief Visual Memory Test (BVMT-R): r = − 0.42; p = 0.002); patients self-judgment (SDMT: r = − 0.38, p = 0.004; CVLT: r = − 0.26, p = 0.03); caregiver perception of patient’s CF (SDMT: r = − 0.52, p < 0.001; CVLT: r = − 0.3, p = 0.01; BVMT-R: r = − 0.42, p = 0.002). The difference in perception between the patients and their caregivers was related to patient age (p = 0.001) and severity of cognitive impairment (p = 0.03).ConclusionsCognitive assessment results show a significant correlation with performance in daily activities and with patients and, especially, caregiver perception of cognitive impairment. These data support the importance of a routine evaluation of cognitive function in MS that includes an anamnestic evaluation of patients, and, when possible, consideration of the caregiver’s point of view.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12883-018-1224-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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