Quality of life predicts rehabilitation prognosis in Parkinson's disease patients

Abstract

BackgroundRehabilitation has been reported to improve the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, not all patients are satisfied with rehabilitation outcomes and could achieve a significant improvement in QoL.ObjectiveTo detect possible predictors of QoL improvement in patients with PD after rehabilitation.MethodsA total of 86 PD patients were included and followed up for 3 months with a 39‐item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire summary index (PDQ‐39 SI) as the primary endpoint. All patients received 2 weeks of multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment (MIRT). Changes in patients' QoL were assessed using the PDQ‐39 at baseline and at the 3‐month follow‐up. The reliable change index (RCI) was adapted to determine the individual QoL outcome. The predictors of QoL outcome were detected using logistic regression analysis.ResultsAfter a 3‐month follow‐up, PDQ‐39 SI decreased significantly from 22.95 ± 9.75 to 18.73 ± 10.32 (P < 0.001). Scores for QoL improved (RCI>10.9) after rehabilitation for 18.6% of the patients, and 74.4% of patients reported an unchanged QoL (−10.9≤RCI≤10.9), while 7.0% of patients reported a worsening of QoL (RCI<−10.9). Among the baseline parameters, the PDQ‐39 SI was a baseline predictor for changes in QoL in the logistic regression model (OR: 1.15, CI: 1.07–1.24, P < 0.001).ConclusionsMIRT could improve QoL for some patients with PD, and PDQ‐39 score at baseline is the most important predictor for QoL improvements after rehabilitation for this patients.