title: The influence of depression, level of functioning in everyday life, and illness acceptance on quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease: a preliminary study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease, and its incidence will increase as the global population ages. Due to the multitude of symptoms, this disease clearly has a significant impact on decreasing quality of life for those with PD. We aimed to evaluate the effect of selected variables on quality of life in people with idiopathic PD treated pharmacologically.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted among 50 patients with PD aged 47-85 years. The diagnostic survey method was applied to collect data with the use of the authors' questionnaire and standardized questionnaires, including, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ), Beck Depression Inventory, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, and Acceptance of Illness Scale. The results were statistically analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis of the study material showed that people who were more self-reliant were characterized by lower intensity of depressive symptoms (ρ=-0.567,P=0), were more likely to accept their illness (ρ=0.611,P=0), and assessed quality of life better in each of the studied domains of the PDQ. Illness acceptance correlated with the occurrence of depressive symptoms (ρ=-0.567,P=0) and significantly affected quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Factors such as depression, disease acceptance, and functional capacity have a significant impact on the subjective assessment of quality of life in patients with PD. Evaluation of these factors should be taken into account in the therapeutic process, to minimize their negative impact on quality of life in patients with PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Science at Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosińczuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Science at Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kołtuniuk
keywords: AIS; BDI; IADL; PDQ-39; Parkinson’s disease; quality of life