OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis assessment questionnaire (ALSAQ) in an Italian cohort of ALS patients and to further characterize the relationship between motor impairment and quality of life (QoL) in ALS. METHODS: Seventy-six patients completed the Italian version of ALSAQ-40 and ALSAQ-5. To verify test-retest reliability, 30 patients were revaluated after 3 months. The medical outcome study short form 36 (MOS SF-36) questionnaire and revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFR-R) scale were used to assess Italian ALSAQ-40 construct validity. The limb muscles' Medical Research Council (MRC) score and forced vital capacity (FVC) were used to measure the degree of motor impairment. RESULTS: The Italian ALSAQ-40 showed a very good internal consistency (all subscales Cronbach's alpha>0.86) and a good construct validity as shown by the patterns of correlation between the subscales and SF-36 (resp. ALSFRS-R) scores. ALSAQ-5 showed a positive correlation with the corresponding ALS patient total score and subscale scores of the ALSAQ-40 (Spearman's correlation coefficient>0.73). The emotional functioning subscale did not correlate with any motor impairment measures. DISCUSSION: Italian ALSAQ-40 and ALSAQ-5 psychometric properties are reliable and similar to those showed by the original English version. We observed emotional aspects to be distinct from physical involvement.

Quality of life and motor impairment in ALS: Italian validation of ALSAQ

PALMIERI, ARIANNA;SORARU', GIANNI;ERMANI, MARIO;PEGORARO, ELENA;ANGELINI, CORRADO
2010

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis assessment questionnaire (ALSAQ) in an Italian cohort of ALS patients and to further characterize the relationship between motor impairment and quality of life (QoL) in ALS. METHODS: Seventy-six patients completed the Italian version of ALSAQ-40 and ALSAQ-5. To verify test-retest reliability, 30 patients were revaluated after 3 months. The medical outcome study short form 36 (MOS SF-36) questionnaire and revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFR-R) scale were used to assess Italian ALSAQ-40 construct validity. The limb muscles' Medical Research Council (MRC) score and forced vital capacity (FVC) were used to measure the degree of motor impairment. RESULTS: The Italian ALSAQ-40 showed a very good internal consistency (all subscales Cronbach's alpha>0.86) and a good construct validity as shown by the patterns of correlation between the subscales and SF-36 (resp. ALSFRS-R) scores. ALSAQ-5 showed a positive correlation with the corresponding ALS patient total score and subscale scores of the ALSAQ-40 (Spearman's correlation coefficient>0.73). The emotional functioning subscale did not correlate with any motor impairment measures. DISCUSSION: Italian ALSAQ-40 and ALSAQ-5 psychometric properties are reliable and similar to those showed by the original English version. We observed emotional aspects to be distinct from physical involvement.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/2433087
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 24
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 21
social impact