Category: Parkinson's Disease: Non-Motor Symptoms
Objective: To identify the variables of activities of daily living (ADL) and motor function associated with self-perceived stigma (self-stigma) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Background: The self-stigma is invisible or hardly detectable in a medical setting. But it has the negative impact on quality of life (QOL) in PD patients. Thus, studying variables associated self-stigma might help professionals find ways to intervene and reduce it.
Method: Subjects were 134 patients with PD (male: female=61:73, mean age 72.5 years old, disease duration 8.7±8.7, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) 27.7±2.2, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) total 22.8±12.5, Hoehn &Yahr stage 2.8±.67) , who had been examined self-stigma, ADL and motor function using 39-item Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ39) and UPDRS. We assessed the correlation of the PDQ39 domain of Stigma and UPDRS; part2 and 3.
The results of previous study assessed predictors of self-stigma in PD (Slazar RD. et.al, 2018) showed the different trends between male and female patient. So, we analyzed the results with separating the sexes.
Results: In gender comparison (male vs female), there were no significant differences in age, disease duration, MMSE, UPDRS scores. PDQ39 domain of Stigma was worse in male (3.3±3.5) than in female (2.3±2.8, p=.048).
About correlation between PDQ39 domain of Stigma and UPDRS; part2 and 3, in female, the lower items ‘turning in bed and adjusting bed clothes’（r=.303, p=.006）‘freezing when walking’（r=.283, p=.011）and ‘posture’（r=.261, p=.020）.
On the other hand in male, there were no significant differences.
Conclusion: -The Self-stigma correlated with turning in bed, freezing and posture only in female patients with PD.
-Male patients feel the self-stigma more frequently than female, but they feel it independently from their ADL and motor function.
References: Slazar RD et.al. Predictors of self-perceived stigma in Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism Ralet Disord. 2019;60
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
A. Kumon, M. Sagawa, M. Saruwatari, N. Kawashima, K. Hasegawa. Self-perceived stigma and motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/self-perceived-stigma-and-motor-symptoms-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/self-perceived-stigma-and-motor-symptoms-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/