title: Family Functioning and Communication in Spouses of Patients with Parkinsonism.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with parkinsonism exhibit motor symptoms, cognitive impairment, and neuropsychiatric changes, and these symptoms increase caregiver burden. Family dynamics can be influenced by the presence of comorbidities, which is especially important in diseases causing caregiver burden. We investigated the effects of spousal parkinsonism on family functioning and communication.
  
  
  METHODS
  Couples without parkinsonism, who visited hospital-based family practices, were recruited by 28 family physicians from 22 hospitals between April 2009 and June 2011; patients with parkinsonism and their spouses were recruited from a single institution. The participants completed questionnaires on demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, family functioning (the Korean version of the Family Adaptation and Cohesion Evaluation Scale [FACES] III), and family communication (the Family Communication Scale of the FACES-IV). We compared family functioning and communication between spouses of the patients with and without parkinsonism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean family adaptability and cohesion scores of the spouses of the patients with parkinsonism were 23.09±6.48 and 32.40±8.43, respectively, whereas those of the control group were 23.84±5.88 and 34.89±7.59, respectively. Family functioning and family communication were significantly different between the spouses of individuals with and without parkinsonism. After adjusting for age, sex, income, and cardiovascular disease in the logistic regression analysis, family functioning was found to significantly deteriorate in the spouses of patients with parkinsonism but not the control group. Family communication decreased significantly in spouses of patients with parkinsonism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family functioning and family communication significantly deteriorated in spouses of patients with parkinsonism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seo Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myung Hwa
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Ah
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea.
authors.forename: Wooyoung
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chong Sik
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Caregivers; Family Dynamics; Parkinsonism; Spouses