Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 2004 Feb;75(2):266–269.

The multiple sclerosis impact scale (MSIS-29) is a reliable and sensitive measure

C McGuigan 1, M Hutchinson 1
PMCID: PMC1738881  PMID: 14742602

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) for patients in the community and in a hospital setting.

Methods: During an epidemiological study, 172 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) were examined and completed the MSIS-29, the London Handicap Scale, and Beck's Depression Inventory; disability was assessed by the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS) and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite. At the hospital neurology clinic, 102 MS patients completed the MSIS-29 and EDSS assessments were performed; 41 of these patients had repeat evaluations six months later. The psychometric properties of the MSIS-29 were examined.

Results: In the 172 community and the 102 hospital patients the psychometric properties of the MSIS-29 were satisfactory, with high convergent and low divergent validity. It was significantly responsive to change in the contexts of self-reported change (p<0.034) and EDSS worsening (p<0.001). The MSIS-29 physical score did not change over time when the EDSS was stable, and increased significantly in proportion to EDSS deterioration (p = 0.014).

Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the MSIS-29 are acceptable; it is a valuable outcome measure in intervention studies of patients with MS.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (180.5 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cella D. F., Dineen K., Arnason B., Reder A., Webster K. A., karabatsos G., Chang C., Lloyd S., Steward J., Stefoski D. Validation of the functional assessment of multiple sclerosis quality of life instrument. Neurology. 1996 Jul;47(1):129–139. doi: 10.1212/wnl.47.1.129. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cohen J. A., Fischer J. S., Bolibrush D. M., Jak A. J., Kniker J. E., Mertz L. A., Skaramagas T. T., Cutter G. R. Intrarater and interrater reliability of the MS functional composite outcome measure. Neurology. 2000 Feb 22;54(4):802–806. doi: 10.1212/wnl.54.4.802. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cutter G. R., Baier M. L., Rudick R. A., Cookfair D. L., Fischer J. S., Petkau J., Syndulko K., Weinshenker B. G., Antel J. P., Confavreux C. Development of a multiple sclerosis functional composite as a clinical trial outcome measure. Brain. 1999 May;122(Pt 5):871–882. doi: 10.1093/brain/122.5.871. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Harwood R. H., Rogers A., Dickinson E., Ebrahim S. Measuring handicap: the London Handicap Scale, a new outcome measure for chronic disease. Qual Health Care. 1994 Mar;3(1):11–16. doi: 10.1136/qshc.3.1.11. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hobart J., Freeman J., Lamping D., Fitzpatrick R., Thompson A. The SF-36 in multiple sclerosis: why basic assumptions must be tested. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2001 Sep;71(3):363–370. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.71.3.363. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hobart J., Freeman J., Thompson A. Kurtzke scales revisited: the application of psychometric methods to clinical intuition. Brain. 2000 May;123(Pt 5):1027–1040. doi: 10.1093/brain/123.5.1027. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hobart J., Lamping D., Fitzpatrick R., Riazi A., Thompson A. The Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29): a new patient-based outcome measure. Brain. 2001 May;124(Pt 5):962–973. doi: 10.1093/brain/124.5.962. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hoogervorst E. L. J., Eikelenboom M. J., Uitdehaag B. M. J., Polman C. H. One year changes in disability in multiple sclerosis: neurological examination compared with patient self report. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Apr;74(4):439–442. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.74.4.439. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kalkers N. F., de Groot V., Lazeron R. H., Killestein J., Adèr H. J., Barkhof F., Lankhorst G. J., Polman C. H. MS functional composite: relation to disease phenotype and disability strata. Neurology. 2000 Mar 28;54(6):1233–1239. doi: 10.1212/wnl.54.6.1233. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kazis L. E., Anderson J. J., Meenan R. F. Effect sizes for interpreting changes in health status. Med Care. 1989 Mar;27(3 Suppl):S178–S189. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198903001-00015. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kurtzke J. F. Rating neurologic impairment in multiple sclerosis: an expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Neurology. 1983 Nov;33(11):1444–1452. doi: 10.1212/wnl.33.11.1444. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Peto V., Jenkinson C., Fitzpatrick R., Greenhall R. The development and validation of a short measure of functioning and well being for individuals with Parkinson's disease. Qual Life Res. 1995 Jun;4(3):241–248. doi: 10.1007/BF02260863. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pfennings L. E., Van der Ploeg H. M., Cohen L., Bramsen I., Polman C. H., Lankhorst G. J., Vleugels L. A health-related quality of life questionnaire for multiple sclerosis patients. Acta Neurol Scand. 1999 Sep;100(3):148–155. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1999.tb00730.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Poser C. M., Paty D. W., Scheinberg L., McDonald W. I., Davis F. A., Ebers G. C., Johnson K. P., Sibley W. A., Silberberg D. H., Tourtellotte W. W. New diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines for research protocols. Ann Neurol. 1983 Mar;13(3):227–231. doi: 10.1002/ana.410130302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Riazi A., Hobart J. C., Lamping D. L., Fitzpatrick R., Thompson A. J. Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29): reliability and validity in hospital based samples. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2002 Dec;73(6):701–704. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.73.6.701. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Robinson B. E., Kelley L. Concurrent validity of the Beck Depression Inventory as a measure of depression. Psychol Rep. 1996 Dec;79(3 Pt 1):929–930. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1996.79.3.929. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sharrack B., Hughes R. A., Soudain S., Dunn G. The psychometric properties of clinical rating scales used in multiple sclerosis. Brain. 1999 Jan;122(Pt 1):141–159. doi: 10.1093/brain/122.1.141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sharrack B., Hughes R. A. The Guy's Neurological Disability Scale (GNDS): a new disability measure for multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 1999 Aug;5(4):223–233. doi: 10.1177/135245859900500406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Thompson A. J., Hobart J. C. Multiple sclerosis: assessment of disability and disability scales. J Neurol. 1998 Apr;245(4):189–196. doi: 10.1007/s004150050204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Vickrey B. G., Hays R. D., Harooni R., Myers L. W., Ellison G. W. A health-related quality of life measure for multiple sclerosis. Qual Life Res. 1995 Jun;4(3):187–206. doi: 10.1007/BF02260859. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Vickrey B. G., Hays R. D., Harooni R., Myers L. W., Ellison G. W. A health-related quality of life measure for multiple sclerosis. Qual Life Res. 1995 Jun;4(3):187–206. doi: 10.1007/BF02260859. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES