Session Information
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Session Title: Parkinsonisms and Parkinson-Plus
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Agora 3 West, Level 3
Objective: To characterize the impact of OFF periods on aspects of employment for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who have OFF periods compared to those who do not experience OFF periods.
Background: PD can have a financial burden on patients and their families. To better understand the burden, the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and the Parkinson’s Foundation deployed the “Financial and Social Impact of Parkinson’s Disease Survey” to assess the financial burden of PD.
Method: Survey results presented here are data gathered from MJFF’s Fox Insights (survey dates: Sept 17, 2018 to Oct 8, 2018). One survey per person with PD (PwP) was completed voluntarily online by the PwP, care partner, family member, or close friend of the PwP. Data on respondents who reported experiencing OFF periods in the past 12 months were compared to data from those who did not report experiencing OFF periods. Analyses include the percentage of missed work days and the percentage of days with reported low productivity due to PD.
Results: From a total 1602 Fox Insights survey respondents, 70% were PwPs and 20% were their care partner, family member, or close friend. Among all respondents, 55% (n=881) reported the PwP as having OFF periods, 27% (n=434) reported no OFF periods, and 18% (n=287) did not know or did not respond. 20% (n=176) of respondents experiencing OFF periods reported working full or part-time compared to 21% (n=90) of respondents without OFF periods. 72% of PwPs with OFF periods had some days with reduced work productivity vs. 43% of those without OFF periods. 48% of PwPs with OFF periods averaged at least 10 days with low productivity a month, vs. 29% of PWPs without OFF periods. 34% of PwPs with OFF periods missed at least 3 working days/month on average because of PD, compared to 21% of PwP with no OFF periods. Additional analyses will be presented in the poster.
Conclusion: In this analysis of the MJFF and the Parkinson’s Foundation Financial and Social Impact of Parkinson’s Disease Survey, missing work days and numbers of work days with low productivity were reported more frequently for PwPs experiencing OFF compared to PwPs not experiencing OFF. More effective management of OFF periods and other PD symptoms may alleviate this burden on people with PD.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
I. Iresha Abeynayake, L. Marinucci, M. Klingler, C. Kenney. Impact of OFF periods on aspects of employment for people with Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/impact-of-off-periods-on-aspects-of-employment-for-people-with-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/impact-of-off-periods-on-aspects-of-employment-for-people-with-parkinsons-disease/