Quality of life in Parkinson's disease: validation study of the PDQ-39 Spanish version

The present multicenter study evaluated the validity of the PDQ-39 Spanish version (PDQ-39 SV) for assessing health-related quality of life (QoL) in Parkinson's disease (PD). A total of 103 PD patients were evaluated by the Hoehn and Yahr stage and by the following scales: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Schwab and England scale, Pfeiffer's SPMSQ, and Geriatric Depression Scale. The Hospital anxiety and Depression Scale and the PDQ-39 SV were self-completed by patients. For analysis of data we used descriptive statistics: Cronbach's alpha. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The internal consistency of the PDQ-39 SV dimensions was satisfactory (Cronbach's a: 0.63-0.94; item-total correlation: 0.57-0.87, P < 0.001), although Social Support and Cognition items were beneath ideal values. Recorded results for Mobility, Activities of Daily Living, and Communication were highly correlated with PD rating scales (r(s) = 0.49-0.73, P < 0.001), Emotional Well-Being and Body Pain showed their best correlations with mood measures. Cognition was the only dimension significantly correlated with the SPMSQ (R-S = 0.27, P < 0.01). These data and previous studies indicate that the PDQ-39 is a consistent instrument for evaluation of physical, emotional and psychosocial aspects of QoL in PD patients.