title: Parkinson's disease: a population-based investigation of life satisfaction and employment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate relationships between individuals' socioeconomic situations and quality of life in working-aged subjects with Parkinson's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based cohort comprising 1,432 people with Parkinson's disease and 1,135 matched controls, who responded to a questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with life satisfaction and likelihood of employment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In multivariate analyses, Parkinson's disease was associated with an increased risk of dissatisfaction with life (odds ratio (OR) = 5.4, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 4.2-7.1) and reduced likelihood of employment (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.25-0.37). Employers' support was associated with greater likelihood of employment (p < 0.001). Twenty-four percent of people with Parkinson's disease for ≥ 10 years remained employed and 6% worked full-time. People with Parkinson's disease also more frequently experienced work demands that exceeded their capacity; this factor and unemployment independently correlated with greater risk of dissatisfaction with life (both p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People with Parkinson's disease have an increased risk of dissatisfaction with life. Employment situation is important for general life satisfaction among working-aged individuals. People with Parkinson's disease appear to find it difficult to meet the challenge of achieving a balanced employment situation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Sports Medicine, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nordström
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stråhle
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nordström
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data