The results of an online survey on the impact of fatigue in proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) carried out by the Cure SMA association among 243 adults affected by the disease have been published:
- responders were asked to use three of the following five fatigue measurement instruments: the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the PedsQLTM multidimensional fatigue scale and fatigue modules of the SMA Health Index (SMA-HI).
- fatigue scores were significantly higher in adults with SMA, regardless of the instruments used, than in the general population.
- however, no correlation was found between fatigue and disease severity.
The authors conclude that fatigue measurement tools for SMA lack specificity and recommend that a specific tool be developed.
