Arabic translation, content validity and reliability of the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire-19 (MSISQ-19)

The prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is accounted to affect nearly 75% of them with higher rate in men than women. Though most of the patients may desire to discuss confidentially the SD with their physician, but both the physician and the patient usually hesitate to break into this presumed taboo. Assuming that MS affects about 35.9 per 100,000 population, it is clearly a problem of paramount significance not to find, to the best of our knowledge, a specific scale for assessing SD in MS patients who speak Arabic. We aimed to translate the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire-19 (MSISQ-19) from English into Arabic and then to Validate the Arabic version as a tool to evaluate the SD in MS patients. We included 40 (21 males and 19 females) sexually active married MS patients. Every patient completed the Arabic translation of the MSISQ-19. Validity construction was explored by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the exploratory factor analysis. The Arabic version of the scale was evaluated for clarity, relevance, and translation of the content. The SD represents 45.5% in our study (47.6% in males, 43.4% in females). Through screening and diagnosis of SD in MS patients, MSISQ-19 would help both patients and physicians to invade the mystery of this hectic issue. In Arabic populations, Arabic version of MSISQ-19 could be a reliable, reproducible and validated tool for the targeting SD in MS patients.