[Quality of life and multiple sclerosis: Arabic language translation and transcultural adaptation of "MSQOL-54"]. / Qualité de vie et sclérose en plaques: traduction en langue arabe et adaptation transculturelle du "MSQOL-54".

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Quality of life assessment of multiple sclerosis patients in Morocco appears essential, considering the early age of onset and the significant functional, psychological and social impact of disease symptoms and disorders. Our goal was to translate the MSQOL-54 into Arabic followed by cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the translated version. METHODS: Patients with multiple sclerosis were recruited over a period of 7 months, from February to August 2007. Sociodemographic data and a detailed clinical description (neurological examination, EDSS, MMS) were collected before administration of the questionnaire. The MSQOL-54 was translated and test validation techniques were applied back translation, revision by a committee of experts, study of acceptability, multivariate analysis, reliability and clinical validity. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients were included. There were 23 men and 55 women of various ages, various stages of disability (EDSS from 1 to 8.5) and various clinical forms. Evaluation of the 78 completed questionnaires revealed a satisfactory acceptability considering the limited number of missing answers and the average time to complete the test (24 minutes). The reliability and the multimultivariate analysis were excellent (coefficient of Cronbach ≥0.7 with a percentage of convergence and divergence validity around 100%). A very significant relationship was found between physical scores and EDSS. CONCLUSION: Measuring the quality of life is an approach that confirmed its usefulness through this study. We propose a valid Arabic version of MSQOL-54.