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Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is common in multiple sclerosis (MS) but understudied. Reliable and valid measures are needed to advance clinical care and expand research in this area. The objectives of this study were to examine the psychometric properties of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) in individuals with MS and to analyze correlates of GAD.

Methods: Participants (N = 513) completed the anxiety module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (GAD-7). To evaluate psychometric properties of the GAD-7, the sample was randomly split to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

Results: Based on the exploratory factor analysis, a one-factor structure was specified for the confirmatory factor analysis, which showed excellent global fit to the data (χ²₁₂ = 15.17, P = .23, comparative fit index = 0.99, root mean square error of …