Validation of the spanish version of the multiple sclerosis international quality of life (musiqol) questionnaire

Abstract

The MusiQoL study group of Spain consisted of the following investigators: Hospital Regional Universitario Carlos Haya, Málaga: O Fernández; Hospital de Bellvitge, Barcelona: T Arbizu; Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Madrid: C de Andrés; Hospital Universitario La Fe, Valencia: B Casanova, IB Blasco; Hospital Clínico Universitario, Zaragoza: C Íñiguez; Hospital Central de Asturias, Oviedo: DF Diaz; Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada: M Guerrero; Hospital Universitario Dr. Josep Trueta, Girona: L Ramió; Hospital de Sabadell, Barcelona: MM Igual; Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid: S Calleja; Mutua de Terrassa, Barcelona: IB Ibars; Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, Lleida: P Granes, L Brieva; Hospital del Mar, Barcelona: EM Olivas; Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, Valencia; F Coret; Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada: C Arnal; Complejo Hospitalaria de Jaén, Jaén: MH Pérez; Hospital de Alarcos, Ciudad Real: M Gudín; Hospital del Bierzo, Ponferrada, León: DP Ruiz; Hospital de Cruces, Baracaldo, Bilbao: M Mendibe; Hospital Univ. Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia: J Meca; Hospital de Cabueñes, Gijón: S Sanchez; Complejo Hospitalario de Orense, Orense: D Rodriguez.

Background The Multiple Sclerosis International Quality Of Life (MusiQoL) questionnaire, a 31-item, multidimensional, self-administrated questionnaire that is available in 14 languages including Spanish, has been validated using a large international sample. We investigated the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of MusiQoL in Spain. Methods Consecutive patients with different types and severities of multiple sclerosis (MS) were recruited from 22 centres across Spain. All patients completed the MusiQoL questionnaire, the 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) health survey, and a symptoms checklist at baseline and 21 days later. External validity, internal consistency, reliability and reproducibility were tested. Results A total of 224 Spanish patients were evaluated. Dimensions of MusiQoL generally demonstrated a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.70-0.92 for all but two MusiQoL domain scores). External validity testing revealed that the MusiQoL index score correlated significantly with all SF-36 dimension scores (Pearson's correlation: 0.46-0.76), reproducibility was satisfactory (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.60-0.91), acceptability was high, and the time taken to complete the 31-item questionnaire was reasonable (mean [standard deviation]: 9.8 [11.8] minutes). Conclusions The Spanish version of the MusiQoL questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring quality of life in patients with MS in Spain and constitutes a useful instrument to measure health-related quality of life in the clinical setting.

This work has been performed using a grant from Merck-Serono S.A. Geneva, Switzerland, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.