Quality of life in a Brazilian sample of patients with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers

Abstract

A b s t r a c t Objective: Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor disabilities and increasing dependence on others for daily life activities with consequent impact on patients' and caregivers' quality of life. Method: A crosssectional study was performed in which quality of life was assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in 21 patients with Parkinson's disease and their respective caregivers. Results: Significant differences between patients and caregivers were found in physical (p < 0.001) and psychological (p = 0.002) domains. In the Parkinson's disease group there was a significant inverse correlation between the psychological domain and duration of disease (p = 0.01), as well as between social domain and severity of disease (p = 0.001). There was a positive correlation between physical domain scores and number of people living in the same house (p = 0.02). The only significant finding in the group of caregivers was an inverse correlation between the social domain and the patients´ age (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Duration, severity of the disease and the number of people living in the same house were the most important predictors of quality of life of Parkinson's disease patients. The age of the patients was the only significant predictor found in the caregivers' quality of life. In order to complement our findings, further short-form questionnaires should be validated for Brazilian samples of Parkinson's disease.Keywords: Quality of life; Parkinson disease; Caregivers; Evaluation studies; Validity Resumo Objetivo: A doença de Parkinson é uma enfermidade neurodegenerativa comum caracterizada por disfunção motora e níveis crescentes de dependência para atividades da vida diária, com conseqüente impacto sobre a qualidade de vida dos pacientes e seus cuidadores. Método: Foi realizado um estudo transversal avaliando qualidade de vida por meio do questionário WHOQOL-BREF em 21 pacientes com doença de Parkinson e seus respectivos cuidadores. Resultados: Diferenças significativas entre pacientes e cuidadores foram encontradas nos domínios físico (p < 0,001) e psicológico (p = 0,002) do questionário WHOQOL-BREF. No grupo dos pacientes, houve uma significativa correlação inversa entre o domínio psicológico e duração da doença (p = 0,01), assim como entre domínio social e gravidade da doença (p = 0,001). Houve uma correlação positiva entre domínio físico e número de pessoas vivendo na mesma casa (p = 0,02). O único achado significativo no grupo dos cuidadores foi uma correlação inversa entre o domínio social e a idade do paciente (p = 0,04). Conclusão: Duração, gravidade e número de pessoas vivendo na mesma casa foram os fatores preditores mais importantes sobre a qualidade de vida dos pacientes com doença de Parkinson. A idade dos pacientes foi o único fator preditor encontrado sobre a qualidade de vida dos cuidadores. Outros questionários de aplicação curta devem ser validados para amostras brasileiras de pacientes com doença de Parkinson no sentido de complementar nossos ach...

Impact of changes in balance and walking capacity on the quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease

“…These results corroborate the findings of other researches that indicate the close association between motor symptoms measured by the UPDRS, HY and SE, and a poor QoL in individuals with PD [8][9][10][11][12] . Lyons et al 30 found that postural instability, gait abnormalities and bradykinesia assessed by means of questions from the motor section of the UPDRS have the greatest impact on the QoL.…”

“…The QoL in PD patients includes the individual's symptoms and physical functioning, as well as psychosocial variables 26 . Although many studies demonstrated that the motor symptoms contribute to the worsening of the perception of QoL in individuals with PD, these investigations predominantly correlated the items of the UPDRS with the dimensions from the PDQ-39 [10][11][12][13] . Therefore, the aim of our study was to specifically assess the balance and the walking capacity of PD patients through instruments usually used in clinical practice of the Physiotherapy and to correlate the findings with the QoL perception of these individuals.…”

Idiopathic Parkinson's disease: vocal and quality of life analysis

“…If you consider that speech is the mirror of our personality, unique in its vibrations, tones and musicality, it is easy to understand how these changes interfere in patient's daily activities and in their social lives 3 . Several studies [25][26][27] have evaluated the quality of life in patients with PD, using different types of protocols, but there are few ones that assess the quality of life related do voice.…”

WHOQOL-OLD assessment of quality of life in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease: influence of sleep and depressive symptoms

“…[4][5][6][7] In PD patients, disability can result from distinct features such as motor impairment, non-motor complications, 4,8 and treatment side effects. Studies have shown that PD-related motor symptoms, [9][10][11][12][13] affective disorder, [13][14][15][16][17] and cognitive dysfunction 14 can be determinants of quality of life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), quality of life (QOL) is "individuals' perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".…”