Impact of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: the Fatigue Impact Scale for Daily Use (D-FIS)

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis Vol. 13; no. 5; pp. 645 - 651
• Main Authors: Benito-León, J., Martínez-Martín, P., Frades, B., Martínez-Ginés, M.L., de Andrés, C., Meca-Lallana, J.E., Antigüedad, A.R., Huete-Antón, B., Rodríguez-García, E., Ruiz-Martínez, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2007; Arnold; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Amantadine - therapeutic use; Benzhydryl Compounds - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Dopamine Agents - therapeutic use; Fatigue - complications; Fatigue - drug therapy; Fatigue - psychology; Female; Humans; Immunomodulators; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multiple Sclerosis - complications; Multiple Sclerosis - psychology; Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis; Neurology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychometrics; Quality of Life; assessment; fatigue; D-FIS; quality of life; multiple sclerosis; psychometric attributes; Multiple sclerosis; Visual analogue scale; Subjective experience; Multidimensional scale; Inflammatory disease; Convergent validity; Degenerative disease; Measurement error; Mood disorder; Human; Nervous system diseases; Evaluation scale; Depression; Fatigue; Psychometrics; Test reliability; Quality of life; Measuring instrument; Deterioration; Central nervous system disease; Instrument; Perception; Inventory
• ISSN: 1352-4585; 1477-0970
• DOI: 10.1177/1352458506073528

Objective The Fatigue Impact Scale for Daily Use (D-FIS) is an eight-item instrument designed to measure subjective daily experience of fatigue. This study sought to determine the metric properties of the D-FIS in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods Sixty-eight patients with operationally-defined MS and fatigue (54.8% of the sample) underwent the D-FIS. Usual clinical measures for MS, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) were also applied. In addition, patients with fatigue completed the Fatigue Descriptive Scale, the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), a Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue (VAS-F), and a Global Perception of Fatigue Scale (GPF). Results Full computable data, 95.6%; both floor and ceiling effect=1.54%; item-total correlation =0.62 (item 1) to 0.84 (item 6); Cronbach's alpha =0.91; item homogeneity =0.55; standard error of measurement =3.18; convergent validity with other fatigue measures = -0.57 (VAS-F); 0.52 (GPF); and 0.46 (MFI-general fatigue). Test-retest reliability (ICC) =0.81. There was a strong association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (FAMS) and D-FIS (rS=0.70). Conclusions In this study, D-FIS proved to be a feasible and valid instrument for measuring MSrelated fatigue, a frequent symptom associated with deterioration of patients' HRQoL. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 645-651. http://msj.sagepub.com