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Updated: May 12, 2026
Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Published on: January 12, 2019
Motor function measure: validation of a short form for young children with neuromuscular diseases
Capucine de Lattre1, Christine Payan, Carole Vuillerot
1Pediatric Neuromuscular Disease Reference Centre, l'Escale, Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France.
Insights
The Motor Function Measure-20 (MFM-20) is a reliable tool for assessing motor function in young children with neuromuscular diseases. This validated scale demonstrates high reliability and good discriminant validity for tracking disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Neuromuscular Diseases
- Motor Function Assessment
Background:
- Assessing motor function in young children (<7 years) with neuromuscular diseases is crucial for monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy.
- Existing tools may require adaptation for this age group.
- The Motor Function Measure (MFM) is a widely used scale, but its utility in very young children needed validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate a modified version of the Motor Function Measure (MFM) for use in children aged 2 to 7 years with neuromuscular diseases.
- To establish the reliability and validity of the MFM in this pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Two prospective cohort studies involving healthy children (n=194) and children with neuromuscular diseases (n=88) aged 2-7 years.
- Development of the MFM-20 from the MFM-32 based on performance in healthy children.
- Assessment of intra- and interrater reliability of the MFM-20 by trained professionals over 8-30 days.
Main Results:
- The MFM-20, comprising 20 items from the MFM-32, was developed and confirmed to reflect 3 functional domains via principal component analysis.
- High intra- and interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient >.90) was observed for the MFM-20 subscores and total score.
- Good discriminant validity was demonstrated, indicating the scale's ability to differentiate motor function levels.
Conclusions:
- The MFM-20 is a valid and reliable outcome measure for assessing motor function in young children (2-7 years) with neuromuscular diseases.
- This validated scale can be effectively used to monitor disease severity and progression in this population.
Objective:
To validate a useful version of the Motor Function Measure (MFM) in children with neuromuscular diseases aged <7 years old.
Design:
Two prospective cohort studies that documented the MFM completion of children aged between 2 and 7 years old.
Setting:
French-speaking rehabilitation departments from France, Belgium, and Switzerland.
Participants:
Healthy children (n=194) and children with a neuromuscular disease (n=88).
Interventions:
Patients were rated by the MFM either once or twice by trained medical professionals, with a delay between the 2 MFMs ranging between 8 and 30 days.
Main Outcome Measure:
Intra- and interrater reliability of the MFM.
Results:
The subtests making up the MFM-32, a scale monitoring severity and progression of motor function in patients with a neuromuscular disease in 3 functional domains, were carried out in healthy children aged 2 to 7 years. Twenty items of the MFM-32 were successfully completed by these children and were used to constitute the MFM-20. Principal component analysis of the MFM-20 confirmed the 3 functional domains. Inter- and intrarater reliability of the 3 subscores and total score were high (intraclass correlation coefficient >.90), and discriminant validity was good.
Conclusions:
The MFM-20 can be used as an outcome measure for assessment of motor function in young children with neuromuscular disease.
