[Effects of non-motor symptoms on health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the effects of non-motor symptoms (NMS) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.


METHODS
By convenient sampling, 128 PD patients were recruited. NMS was assessed by the non-motor symptoms scale for PD (NMSS) and HRQOL by the 39-item PD Questionnaire (PDQ39).


RESULTS
All PD patients (100%) had NMS with a general score of (124 ± 48) . Among these NMS, constipation was ranked the highest and the general level of NMS was significantly positively associated with age (r = 0.226, P < 0.05), Hoehn-Yahr staging (r = 0.442, P < 0.05) and disease course (r = 0.223, P < 0.05). However there was no correlation with gender (r = 0.085, P < 0.05). For PD patients, HRQOL became impaired with a general score of (44 ± 16) . Activities of daily living (60 ± 15), mobility (49 ± 21), emotional well-being (49 ± 28) and stigma (48 ± 46) were the most seriously affected. Females (χ² = -1.821 P < 0.05) and senile bereaved patients (χ² = -1.512, P < 0.05) had significantly lower HRQOL than that of others. For PD patients, the general level of HRQOL was significantly positively associated with disease course (r = 0.260, P < 0.05) and severity (r = 0.259, P < 0.05). The general level of HRQOL was significantly positively associated with the general level of NMS (r = 0.686, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Non-motor symptoms (NMS) are quite common in PD patients. For PD patients, NMS has a more negative impact on HRQOL than other symptoms.
Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China.
Hongli
H
Dong
Email: liucf20@hotmail.com.
Chunfeng
C
Liu
Xiaowei
X
Hu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires