The reliability and validity of the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale in patients with multiple sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale (EADL) is reliable and valid for the assessment of disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).


METHODS
Questionnaire measures were administered on two occasions four months apart.


METHODS
A total of 240 patients recruited through a randomized controlled trial of cognitive assessment and treatment in MS.


METHODS
The Nottingham EADL, Guys Neurological Disability Scale (GNDS) and SF-36 quality of life scale.


RESULTS
The EADL items did not form a Guttman Scale (CR 0.8, CS 0.3). The EADL and its four subscales all had high internal consistency (alpha 0.72-0.94). Test-retest reliability was satisfactory (r(s) 0.81-0.90) with a mean difference in scores on the two occasions of 0.29. Factor analysis generally supported the subscale structure. There were significant but weak correlations with quality of life measures.


CONCLUSIONS
The EADL shows promise for the assessment of disability in MS, but the range of items needs to be extended. Further evaluation of the scale seems warranted.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D009420:Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires