Evaluation of an Arabic version of the non-motor symptoms scale in Parkinson’s disease

• Published in: Neurological sciences 2016-06, Vol.37 (6), p.963-968
• Main Authors: Sellami, Leila, Kacem, Imen, Nasri, Amina, Djebara, Mouna Ben, Sidhom, Youssef, Gargouri, Amina, Gouider, Riadh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases - diagnosis; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases - etiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Mood Disorders - etiology; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Original Article; Parkinson Disease - complications; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep Wake Disorders - diagnosis; Sleep Wake Disorders - etiology; Statistics as Topic; Translating; Tunisia; Visual Analog Scale
• ISSN: 1590-1874; 1590-3478
• DOI: 10.1007/s10072-016-2525-x

Non-motor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson Disease (PD) are common and can cause severe disability. They are often under-recognized and remain untreated. Tools to evaluate these symptoms in Arabic-speaking patients are still lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate an Arabic version of the non-motor symptoms scale (NMSS) of PD as an instrument for measuring NMS in Arabic-speaking patients. Sixty-two PD patients clustered around Hoehn & Yahr Stages 2–3 were evaluated by the Arabic version of NMSS. They also underwent a battery of standard psychometric assessment measures that included the scales for outcomes of Parkinson’s disease-autonomic (SCOPA-AUT), the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the Beck depression inventory, the geriatric depression scale (GDS), the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the visual analogical scale for pain(VAS) and the neuro-psychiatric inventory (NPI). The metric properties of the NMSS were studied as well as its correlation with other standard tests evaluating NMS. The mean NMSS score was 82 ± 56 (skewness 0.88). There were highly significant correlations between the NMSS and the SCOPA-AUT as well as the NMSS and PSQI scores. Significant positive correlations between NMSS and GDS, BECK and VAS were also observed. The sleep/fatigue domain significantly correlated with the PSQI, the cardiovascular/urinary/sexual function/gastrointestinal domains significantly correlated with the SCOPA-AUT, the mood/cognition domain significantly correlated with the GDS and BECK findings. The mean Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.87, showing a satisfactory internal consistency. The Arabic version of NMSS can be considered a comprehensive and reliable measure for non-motor symptoms in Arabic-speaking PD patients.