%0 Journal Article
%A Vogel, Adam P
%A Graf, Lisa
%A Weiß, Merit
%A Chan, Cheuk S J
%A Hepworth, Graham
%A Synofzik, Matthis
%T Development and validation of the dysarthria impact scale: a patient-reported outcome for motor speech disorders.
%J Journal of neurology
%V 273
%N 3
%@ 0367-004X
%C [Darmstadt]
%I Steinkopff
%M DZNE-2026-00273
%P 195
%D 2026
%X Impaired speech due to dysarthria significantly impacts quality of life. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) offer critical insight into the lived experience of communication disability and are central to regulatory frameworks for patient-focused drug development.To develop and validate the Dysarthria Impact Scale (DIS), a brief PRO designed to assess the impact of motor speech disorders on quality of life across neurological conditions.A multi-site, cross-sectional study was conducted with 244 participants, including individuals with Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, hereditary ataxias, and head and neck cancer, and healthy controls. The 22-item DIS was developed using expert input and patient feedback and evaluated alongside reference tools (Voice Handicap Index and SF-36). Item reduction procedures yielded two shorter versions (DIS-17 and DIS-6). Validity, reliability, and sensitivity/specificity analyses were performed, and minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) were estimated using distribution-based methods.All DIS versions showed strong convergent validity with the VHI (r = -0.85) and SF-36 (r = 0.72) and were correlated with blinded perceptual speech ratings. DIS-17 and DIS-6 achieved comparable sensitivity (0.93 and 0.88) and specificity (0.84 and 0.86, respectively). Test-retest reliability was high (r = 0.98), with estimated MCIDs and within-subject variability provided. Group differences were observed, with lower DIS scores in ataxia and Parkinson's disease compared to Huntington's disease.The DIS is a valid, reliable, and practical PRO for quantifying the impact of dysarthria on quality of life. Longitudinal responsiveness remains to be established.
%K Humans
%K Dysarthria: diagnosis
%K Dysarthria: etiology
%K Dysarthria: psychology
%K Male
%K Female
%K Middle Aged
%K Patient Reported Outcome Measures
%K Aged
%K Cross-Sectional Studies
%K Adult
%K Reproducibility of Results
%K Quality of Life
%K Severity of Illness Index
%K Clinical trials (Other)
%K Dysarthria (Other)
%K Patient-reported outcome (Other)
%K Questionnaire (Other)
%K Speech (Other)
%K Survey (Other)
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%$ pmid:41805906
%2 pmc:PMC12975812
%R 10.1007/s00415-026-13740-1
%U https://pub.dzne.de/record/285634