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The following is a summary of “Expanded and independent validation of the NoMoFA scale for Parkinson’s disease: the Italian version,” published in the December 2024 issue of Neurology by Balestrino et al.
Non-motor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) can vary daily, significantly affecting the QoL of people living with PD. The Non-Motor Fluctuation Assessment (NoMoFA) Questionnaire quantifies these fluctuations during both ON- and OFF-medication states.
Researchers conducted a prospective study to validate the Italian version of the NoMoFA scale.
They followed a comprehensive method in which the NoMoFA scale was translated, back-translated, and cognitively pretested before being administered to 227 people with PD (mean age 65.34 years, disease duration 9.31 years). Participants were also assessed using other validated measures for PD and cognitive state. The scale was evaluated for feasibility, acceptability, internal consistency, factorial structure, convergent validity, test-retest reliability performed on 50 participants after 14 days, and precision.
The results showed 227 people with PD, with 100% data computability. The scale showed no floor or ceiling effects and included 7 factors explaining 59.2% of the variance. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.89, indicating strong internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.90 showed satisfactory reproducibility. The NoMoFA total score correlated strongly with the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Parts I (rS = 0.71) and II (rS = 0.60). Significant differences were found in NoMoFA scores based on disease duration, Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) score, and levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) (P<0.0001), but not based on age or sex. The Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) was 3.40 (for ½ SDpooled = 5.48).
They concluded that the Italian version of the NoMoFA scale was a reliable and valid tool for assessing NoMoFA in people with PD.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-024-12863-7
