Profile of Generic and Disease-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life among Nigerians with Parkinson's Disease
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Abstract
Background: There is mounting evidence that Parkinson's disease causes significant disability and impairs health-related quality of life. However, this dimension has not been fully characterised, particularly among Africans. We examined the generic and disease- specific health related quality of life profiles of Nigerian Africans with Parkinson's disease in comparison to demographically-matched controls.
Methods: Thirty-six consecutive Nigerian patients with Parkinson's disease were assessed using a battery comprising of the Parkinson's disease questionnaire-39 (a disease-specific instrument), and the EQ- 5D (a generic instrument whose maximum score of 1.00 indicates best quality of life). A structured questionnaire interview and a complete neurological examination including the Hoehn and Yahr stage of illness scale and the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale were performed on the same day. Thirty- six ages and gender- matched apparently healthy controls were also assessed.
Results: There was no significant difference in age between the patients (64.3 + 10years) and controls (63.7 + 9 years). The patients had significantly poorer EQ-5D score (0.31 + 0.23) compared to the controls (0.84+ 0.12 for the controls, P< 0.001). The Parkinson's disease questionnaire-39demonstrated poor quality of life in patients with the poorest performances in the mobility, activities of daily living and emotional well-being dimensions. However the social support dimension was not impaired.
Conclusion: Patients with Parkinson's disease had much poorer generic and specific health related quality of life in comparison to their healthy counterparts. Management should be multi-disciplinary in order to holistically improve quality of life in all affected domains.
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