Influence of Motor Symptoms on Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease – Gender Specific

Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by a range of motor symptoms.
These symptoms can lead to distress, social isolation, and a significant burden on patients, impacting their quality of
life (QoL). In this study, we examined how motor symptoms affect the quality of life of Parkinson’s disease patients and
identified variations between male and female populations.
Methods: This is an observational study. The study was conducted among Parkinson’s disease patients of the age group
between 45-70 years of both genders. A total of 37 patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s were considered for the study.
22 males and 15 females were taken for the study. The motor symptoms were measured using UPDRS PART 3 during the
ON state of the disease, and health-related quality of life was measured using PDQ-39. The scores were summarized,
and regression analysis was performed.
Results: Regression analysis showed that patients with more motor symptoms had significantly worse HRQOL than
patients with no symptoms, and patients with longer disease duration reported a lower HRQOL. Parkinson’s disease
patients reported decreased considerably physical and mental HRQOL(p<0.001).
Conclusion: Individuals with PD have a significantly lower HRQOL. We have also identified potential factors to target in
future studies to improve PD patients’ lives. Increasing disease severity, PD duration, motor fluctuations, and, mainly,
bradykinesia also reflected a lower HRQOL. In addition, our findings suggest that female PD patients had a more enor
mous impact and reduced quality of life when compared to males.