Photo Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen

The following is a summary of “Psychometric Properties of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures, measuring Fatigue in patients with Multiple Sclerosis, a Systematic Review,” published in the November 2024 issue of Neurology by Ruzzi et al.      

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), with fatigue affecting more than 80% of individuals with MS, significantly impairing their QoL and independence in daily activities.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to identify and assess the psychometric properties of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) measuring fatigue in individuals with MS.  

They conducted a systematic review of studies following the Consensus for the Selection of Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) standards (Mokkink et al., 2010), evaluating psychometric properties and risk of bias.  

The results showed 34 studies, with 40 references extracted. Studies demonstrated a higher frequency of low risk of bias for structural validity (25 studies, 64.1%), internal consistency (25 studies, 64.1%), and criterion validity (29 studies, 74.4%). However, studies showed high or unclear risk of bias for reliability (19 studies, 48.7%) and cross-cultural validity (13 studies, 33.3%).  

They concluded that using PROs instruments to assess fatigue in individuals with MS was essential for personalized care and improving QoL.  

Source: msard-journal.com/article/S2211-0348(24)00745-4/fulltext