Session Information
Date: Monday, June 5, 2017
Session Title: Quality Of Life/Caregiver Burden in Movement Disorders
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Exhibit Hall C
Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. The movement disorder is characterized by the clinical hallmarks tremor, akinesia, rigidity and postural instability. Progress in PD is accompanied with motor fluctuations and additional non-motor symptoms such as obstipation, sleep disorders, depression, dementia and psychiatric symptoms.
Background: This course of disease progression leads to severe burden of patients and caregivers as well. By accumulation of these symptoms patients lose their autonomy and are more and more care dependent. Unfortunately there is a huge lack of knowledge regarding quality of life and the care situation of severely diseased PD patients.
Methods: In an ongoing study of our group we characterize quality of life, care situation and influencing factors in a local cohort of advanced PD patients. Additionally, the need for palliative care should be quantified in structured interviews.
Results: 76 geriatric patients suffering from advanced PD have been characterized. The average Hoehn and Yahr Stage was 4.01 (3 – 5), the mean age was 75.5 (65 – 89). The mean Barthel Index was 62 (0 – 100). Interestingly, a huge number of these patients showed cognitive deficits in the MoCA test of cognition. Quality of life measured by the PDQ-39 correlated highly significant with motor deficits (MDS-UPDRS part III), Barthel Index, MoCA-Score and activities of daily living (UPDRS II). The equivalence dosage of levodopa calculated for each patient did not correlate with quality of life at all.
Conclusions: Here, we show that quality of life is dramatically reduced in these patients. Factors found to be negatively correlating with quality of life are motor impairments, cognitive deficits and the ability to perform activities of daily living. These data help to plan interventions for advanced geriatric PD patients in order to stabilize quality of life during disease progression.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Klietz, A. Tulke, C. Schrader, L. Diekstall, L. Müschen, D. Dressler, F. Wegner. Quality of life and its influencing factors in a local population of advanced geriatric Parkinson´s Disease patients [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2017; 32 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/quality-of-life-and-its-influencing-factors-in-a-local-population-of-advanced-geriatric-parkinsons-disease-patients/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2017 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/quality-of-life-and-its-influencing-factors-in-a-local-population-of-advanced-geriatric-parkinsons-disease-patients/