Validation of the French version of the MSA health-related Quality of Life scale (MSA-QoL).

Introduction: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) has considerable impact on health-related quality of life. The MSA health-related Quality of Life scale (MSA-QoL) is a patient-reported questionnaire, which has been recently designed to evaluate the quality of life in MSA. The objective of the present study was to validate the French version of the MSA-QoL questionnaire.
Methods: One hundred and thirty-six consecutive MSA patients were included in the study. Four patients with more than 10% missing responses were excluded from the final analysis. Data quality, scaling assumptions, acceptability, reliability and validity were assessed similar to the original validation of the English version.
Results: Missing responses were low, item and subscale scores were evenly distributed and floor and ceiling effects were negligible. Item-total correlations were higher than the recommended greater than 0.30 and internal consistency was high for all subscales. Test-retest reliability was good for all subscales. Validity was supported by moderate interscale correlations between the subscales and the predicted correlations with other scales assessing motor disability, activities of daily living, quality of life and mood.
Discussion: The French version of the MSA-QoL displays robust psychometric properties similar to the English version.
Conclusion: The French version of MSA-QoL seems suitable for assessing quality of life in French speaking MSA patients.
(Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)