Social and clinical determinants of quality of life in Parkinson's disease in a Russian cohort study

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that has a major impact on health and longevity in Eastern countries. Studies investigating health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Eastern European and Asian countries are scarce. The objective of this cross-sectional survey was to assess HRQoL in Russian patients with PD and identify its social and clinical determinants. The study included 100 outpatients with idiopathic PD and 100 controls. Patients were consecutively recruited from the neurological department of the Russian Medical State University in Moscow between October 2004 and December 2005. Regional healthy controls were matched for age and sex. The evaluation of HRQoL was performed using the EuroQol instrument (EQ-5D and EQ VAS). Disease severity was assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Multivariate regression analyses were used to identify independent determinants of HRQoL. HRQoL was more notably decreased in PD patients than in controls (98% versus 74% of individuals with moderate or severe problems in at least one dimension of the EQ-5D ( p < 0.001), respectively). As compared to patients, the controls reported a higher mean EQ VAS score (74.0 ± 16.0 versus 47.7 ± 16.7, p < 0.001). Social and clinical determinants of HRQoL were age, disease severity, dystonia, depression, dementia and social support. While the HRQoL of patients with PD in Western countries is predominately affected by clinical parameters, social factors play an important role in Eastern countries. Our data should be considered in the development of national healthcare programs that seek to provide better social services support for patients with PD.