Determinants of health-related quality of life among Nigerian-Africans with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Background:  Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that can cause significant impairment of Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL). It is important to identify factors influencing HRQOL in PD patients among Nigerian Africans.

Aim:  To identify the sociodemographic and disease related variables that contribute to quality of life in adults with PD.

Methods:  Thirty-six consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of PD were studied from June to November 2009 in Port Harcourt. The Hoehn and Yahr stage of illness scale and the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale were used to assess the severity of PD. HRQOL was assessed using Parkinson's disease Questionnaire-39 and EuroQOL-5D. The Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess depression. HRQOL determinants were sought among variables such as age, gender, average monthly income, marital status, age of onset, duration of disease, disease severity and depression.

Results:  The mean age of the patients was 64.3 + 10.9 years.  Majority (77.8% ) of the patients were married and 58.3% were retired. The mean age at onset of PD was 60.8 + 10.5years with a range of 39-80 years.  The mean duration of PD was 3.5 + 3.1years.  The mean Hoehn and Yahr stage was 3.19 + 0.6 while the mean UPDRS score was 44.3 + 14.2. The determinants of HRQOL in PD were severity, and duration of disease as well as depression.

Conclusion:  To maximise HRQOL in PD patients, multi-pronged interventions aimed at mitigating the severity of the disease and reducing depression are therefore needed.

Keywords: Determinants, Health-Related Quality of life, Parkinson's disease, Nigerian-African