Category: Parkinson's Disease: Non-Motor Symptoms
Objective: The main aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that STN-DBS improves satisfaction with life and treatment in PD.
Background: Subthalamic stimulation (STN-DBS) improves quality of life (QoL) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, to date the literature about the effect on patients’ satisfaction with life and treatment is sparse.
Method: This was a prospective, observational, multicenter study with a 6-month follow-up. Assessments included the Satisfaction with Life and Treatment Scale (SLTS-7), PDQuestionnaire–8 (PDQ-8), European Quality of Life Questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L), EQ-Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Unified PD Rating Scale Parts I to IV. Longitudinal outcome changes were analysed using Wilcoxon signed rank-tests. Multiple comparisons were corrected (Benjamini-Hochberg method). We quantified effect sizes with Cohen’s d and explored Spearman correlations between change scores of outcomes.
Results: In our cohort of 121 PD patients, all outcomes significantly improved at stipulated follow up. Exploring SLTS-7 domains, we observed improvements in ‘satisfaction with physical health’ (p<0.001) and ‘satisfaction with treatment’ (p=0.007). Effect sizes were ‘small’ for the SLTS-7 total score and aforementioned domains. Correlations of change scores of the SLTS-7 were ‘strong’ with the EQ-VAS (rs=0.64, p<0.001), ‘moderate’ with the PDQ-8 SI (rs=0.49, p<0.001) and HADS (rs=0.46, p<0.001), and ‘weak’ with the UPDRS-activities of daily living (ADL) (rs=0.39, p<0.001) and EQ-5D-3L (rs=0.37, p<0.001)
Conclusion: This study provides scale assessment-based evidence of short term improvement of satisfaction with life and treatment of PD after bilateral STN-DBS. Furthermore, such improvement correlated to improved QoL, ADL, and NMS rather than motor examination and motor complications and may help shape better personalized management strategies.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
A. Sauerbier, P. Bachon, L. Ambrosio, P. Loehrer, A. Rizos, S. Jost, A. Gronostay, G. Fink, K. Ashkan, C. Nimsky, V. Visser-Vandewalle, K. Ray Chaudhuri, L. Timmermann, P. Martinez-Martin, H. Dafsari. Improvement of short-term satisfaction with life and treatment in Parkinson´s disease after subthalamic stimulation [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/improvement-of-short-term-satisfaction-with-life-and-treatment-in-parkinsons-disease-after-subthalamic-stimulation/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/improvement-of-short-term-satisfaction-with-life-and-treatment-in-parkinsons-disease-after-subthalamic-stimulation/