Background: Kinesiophobia can be a barrier for physical activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and it can develop as a result of fear and avoidance reactions due to fatigue. However, there is no valid and reliable scale available to assess kinesiophobia due to fatigue in PwMS.
Aims: To investigate the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-Fatigue (TSK-F) in PwMS.
Methods: Eighty-seven PwMS were included in the study. In addition to TSK-F, the following measurements were used for construct validity: Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Scale-54 (MSQoL-54). TSK-F was administered twice (3-7 days apart) to measure test-retest reliability.
Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient of the TSK-F was 0.867. It had a weak correlation with the IPAQ and EDSS, moderate correlation with the MSQoL-54 and 6MWT, and strong correlation with the BDI, FSS, and FIS (respectively, rho - 0.345, rho 0.365, rho 0.544, rho - 0.449, rho 0.690, rho 0.602, rho 0.650). The scale had good performance to discriminate the disease severity with the area under the curve (AUC) value 0.730.
Conclusions: TSK-F has excellent reliability and moderate-to-good validity in evaluating kinesiophobia and the scale may be a useful outcome measurement for assessment of kinesiophobia due to fatigue in PwMS.
Keywords: Fatigue; Kinesiophobia; Multiple sclerosis; Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-Fatigue.
© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.