title: Core outcome measures for exercise studies in people with multiple sclerosis: recommendations from a multidisciplinary consensus meeting.
abstract: Evidence shows that exercise is beneficial for people with multiple sclerosis (MS); however, statistical pooling of data is difficult because of the diversity of outcome measures used. The objective of this review is to report the recommendations of an International Consensus Meeting for a core set of outcome measures for use in exercise studies in MS. From the 100 categories of the International Classification of Function Core Sets for MS, 57 categories were considered as likely/potentially likely to be affected by exercise and were clustered into seven core groups. Outcome measures to address each group were evaluated regarding, for example, psychometric properties. The following are recommended: Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) or Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) for energy and drive, 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) for exercise tolerance, Timed Up and Go (TUG) for muscle function and moving around, Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) or Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 Instrument (MSQoL54) for quality of life and body mass index (BMI) or waist-hip ratio (WHR) for the health risks associated with excess body fat. A cost effectiveness analysis and qualitative evaluation should be included where possible. Using these core measures ensures that future meta-analyses of exercise studies in MS are more robust and thus more effectively inform practice.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, UK Lorna.Paul@glasgow.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Clinical Therapies Department, University of Limerick, Ireland.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coote
authors.affiliation: Patient Representative, MS Society, UK.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crosbie
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, UK.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.affiliation: Research Team, MS Society, UK.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.affiliation: MS Service NHS Ayrshire and Arran, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McCrone
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saxton
authors.affiliation: Patient Representative, MS Society, UK.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sincock
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D015444:Exercise; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities
keywords: Multiple sclerosis; exercise; outcome measures