Profile of Generic and Disease-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life Among Nigerians with Parkinson's Disease

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 diseasespecific 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. Thirtysixages 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.

Keywords Parkinson's disease; Health Related Quality of Life; Nigeria