Factors affecting the quality of life of patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease - a cross-sectional study in an outpatient clinic attendees

Purpose: To determine the factors associated with poor quality of life (QoL) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) in a clinic-based sample. Scope: One hundred patients were included in this study. To assess the quality of life the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) was used. A structured questionnaire interview and a complete neurological examination, including the Hoehn and Yahr scale (H-Y), the Schwab and England disability scale, 11, 111, IV parts of the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS part 11, 111, IV), Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS) and the Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE) were per-formed. Results and conclusions: The most important predictive factor was MADRS score, followed by clinical fluctuations as measured by UPDRS part IVB and the H-Y stage of disease, which account for 79% of the variance of QoL scores. Therefore, recognition of depression should become an important part of treatment of PD. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.