Walking Speed and Health‐Related Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis

• Published in: The patient : patient-centered outcomes research 2014, Vol.7 (1), p.55-61
• Main Authors: Kohn, Christine G., Baker, William L., Sidovar, Matthew F., Coleman, Craig I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Female; Health Administration; Health Economics; Health Status; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - psychology; Original Research Article; Pharmacoeconomics and Health Outcomes; Public Health; Quality of Life; Quality of Life Research; Socioeconomic Factors; Studies; Walking
• ISSN: 1178-1653; 1178-1661
• DOI: 10.1007/s40271-013-0028-x

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between slower walking and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods We used North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis data to conduct a study of participants completing both the regular semiannual and supplemental spring 2010 surveys. Question 10 of the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (“How much has your MS slowed down your walking?”) was used to assess patient-perceived impact of walking speed on HRQoL. HRQoL assessments included the Short Form-12 (SF-12), EuroQoL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D), Short Form-6 Dimension (SF-6D), and a visual analog scale (VAS). Results A total of 3,670 registrants completed both surveys and were included. Unadjusted analyses showed that compared with those classifying the impact of MS on walking speed as “not at all” ( n  = 661), participants stating MS impacted their walking speed “a little” ( n  = 722), “moderately” ( n  = 486), “quite a bit” ( n  = 714), and “extremely” ( n  = 1,087) reported poorer SF-12 physical component scale (PCS) ( r  = −0.69, p