Quality of life of a person with Parkinson's disease and the relationship between the time of evolution and the severity of the disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease can cause disability and decrease the quality of life in its sufferers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of a group of people with Parkinson's disease and whether a relationship exists between time of evolution and severity of the disease. Secondary analysis was carried out on transversal data collected from 40 individuals with Parkinson's disease registered in the Parkinson's Association of Maringá, in Maringá-PR-Brazil.

Measures: three instruments were applied: a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Hoenh and Yahr Scale and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). According to PDQ-39, men referred to a lower quality of life, although, statistically, there was no significant difference between the two genders. Differences were only observed in the dimensions of "activities of daily living" and "social support", in which men presented higher impairment, and "emotions" and "bodily discomfort", where women showed higher impairment. Furthermore, severity of disease tended to lead to a perception of lower quality of life regarding the dimensions of "activities of daily living" and "cognition", which is relevant to improve clinical guidance and intervention.