CG28
A Prospective Multicenter Study for Assessing the Validity of the Musiqol Instrument Among Arabic-Speaking Patients with MS

Thursday, May 29, 2014
Trinity Exhibit Hall
Mohammed Al Jumah, MB BS, MD, FRCPC , King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abdulkader Daif, MD , King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Zamzami, MD , King Fahad Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Ali Al-Khathaami, MB BS, MD, FRCPC , King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Ayah Jawhary, MD , King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Edward J Cupler, MD , King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Aly Hussein, MSCS, MsPH, PhD , King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed El Tamawy, MD , Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Mousa Al Mejally, MD , Herra General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Raed Alroughani, MD , Amiri Hospital & Neurology Clinic, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Saeed Bohlega, MD , King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Samia Ashour, MD , Ain Shams University, Ain Shams, Egypt
Talal Al Harbi, MD , King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Suleiman Kojan, MD , King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia



Background: The Multiple Sclerosis International Quality Of Life (MusiQoL) questionnaire has previously been validated in other languages, but so far no tool for assessing quality of life (QoL) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has yet been validated in the Arabic language.

Objectives: To prospectively assess correlations between MusiQoL scores and disease activity (Expanded Disability Status Scale; EDSS) and progression (annualized relapse rate; ARR) over 12 months in Arabic-speaking patients with MS treated with the serum-free formulation of subcutaneous (sc) interferon (IFN) β-1a. 

Methods: This prospective, international, multicenter cohort study recruited Arabic-speaking patients with MS who had been treated with serum-free sc IFN β-1a for ≥6 months prior to entering the study. Patients’ disease characteristics were assessed at baseline, Month 6 and Month 12. The MusiQoL questionnaire was administered at baseline and Month 12. Changes from baseline in MusiQoL total and sub-domain scores were compared using the paired t-test. Correlations between changes in these scores from baseline and important clinical parameters were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and the point-biserial correlation coefficient. 

Results: A total of 152 patients were included: 65.13% were female; mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 33.52 (0.85) years; MS duration, 4.4 (0.33) years; and baseline EDSS score, 2.04 (0.11). Mean (SD) MusiQoL total score was 65.55 (1.31) at baseline and 66.79 (1.32) at Month 12 (p=0.28). There was no correlation between MusiQoL total score and ARR (r=–0.11; p=0.17), but ARR was negatively correlated with change from baseline in the MusiQoL symptom domain (r=–0.28, p<0.01). There was no correlation between change from baseline in MusiQoL total score and EDSS score at Month 12 (r=–0.11, 0.1733). 

Conclusions: These findings suggest that QoL, as assessed by the Arabic-language version of MusiQoL, captures changes in some aspects of patients’ clinical status over 12 months. Periodic assessment of QoL should be routinely implemented in the management of MS patients.