ReviewActa neurologica Belgica2026
Cultural decoupling of quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients: a systematic review and psychometric analysis of the MSQOL-54.
Review in Acta neurologica Belgica, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54) is a globally utilized disease-specific instrument, yet its psychometric stability across diverse cultural and healthcare landscapes is often assumed. This systematic review aims to quantify the cross-cultural reliability and clinical validity of the MSQOL-54.
methodsA systematic search of PubMed and Scopus identified 272 records. Following COSMIN guidelines, ten primary validation studies (N = 1,401) across diverse regions including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa were included. Methodological quality was appraised using the COSMIN checklist, and clinical validity was assessed via Pearson correlations between the Physical (PHC) and Mental (MHC) Health Composites and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).
resultsInternal consistency was robust across all versions (α range: 0.78–0.96). The PHC demonstrated a consistent, statistically significant inverse correlation with EDSS (r range: −0.25 to − 0.76). Conversely, the MHC exhibited significant decoupling from neurological disability in 40% of the cohorts. Qualitative synthesis identified two distinct cultural phenomena: a Social Buffer effect in Georgia and Indonesia that preserves mental well-being despite physical decline, and a Reporting Deficit in conservative settings where intimacy-related domains showed high non-response rates due to sociocultural taboos.
conclusionThe MSQOL-54 demonstrates robust potential for global application, though its psychometric performance remains contingent on sample size and regional reporting norms. The consistent Physical-Mental Gap underscores that mental well-being is driven by psychosocial resilience rather than neurological status alone. Clinicians and researchers should adopt a dual-composite profiling approach to ensure that the emotional erosion is not obscured by stable physical metrics.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD420261282251.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41984387What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.