Patient-reported quality of life in multiple sclerosis differs between cultures and countries: a cross-sectional Austrian–German–Polish study

Background: Patient-reported quality of life (QOL) is an outcome measure in clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS), but translated QOL instruments may affect the actual comparability of data. Objectives: We aimed to investigate possible differences in QOL in MS between cultures and countries. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Multiple sclerosis 2011-04, Vol.17 (4), p.478-486
Main Authors: Pluta-Fuerst, A, Petrovic, K, Berger, T, Fryze, W, Fuchs, S, Gold, R, Kozubski, W, Ladurner, G, Petereit, H, Potemkowski, A, Rieckmann, P, Sailer, M, Szczudlik, A, Vass, K, Weber, T, Zakrzewska-Pniewska, B, Fazekas, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Austria
Biological and medical sciences
Chi-Square Distribution
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Cross-Sectional Studies
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Disability Evaluation
Female
Germany
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Multiple Sclerosis - psychology
Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis
Neurology
Poland
Quality of Life - psychology
Severity of Illness Index
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Background: Patient-reported quality of life (QOL) is an outcome measure in clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS), but translated QOL instruments may affect the actual comparability of data. Objectives: We aimed to investigate possible differences in QOL in MS between cultures and countries. We employed the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) Version 4 questionnaire, which is a state-of-the-art QOL instrument. Methods: Some 484 MS patients from Austria (145), Germany (144), and Poland (195) aged 20–60 years, and stratified for sex and disease severity as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score completed the respective FAMS translation and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results: Analysis of variance and post-hoc Scheffé-test showed that 64% of the FAMS items were answered significantly differently (p 
ISSN:1352-4585
1477-0970
DOI:10.1177/1352458510391341