Correlation between Motor and Upper Limb Function and Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the correlation between motor function (Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded, HFMSE), upper limb function (Revised Upper Limb Module, RULM), and Activities of Daily Living (Korean Modified Barthel Index, K-MBI) in patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Methods:The participants in this study were 15 adult SMA patients.HFMSE, RULM, and K-MBI were used as assessment tools.The correlation between these three variables and the K-MBI subscales was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis.Results: The K-MBI total score showed a very strong positive correlation with both HFMSE (r=0.95,p<0.01) and RULM (r=0.90, p<0.01).A significant association was confirmed for most ADL items, excluding the bladder and bowel items.Notably, HFMSE showed the highest correlation with the mobility index (r=0.97),while RULM showed the highest correlation with the self-care index (r=0.93),indicating a distinct association between the functional tools.Conclusion: HFMSE and RULM are closely related to ADL performance in SMA patients.HFMSE appears to selectively reflect the mobility component, while RULM selectively reflects the self-care component.This suggests that K-MBI, when used in conjunction with HFMSE and RULM, can provide useful baseline data for more clearly identifying areas