Activities of daily living and quality of life in persons with newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease according to subtype of disease, and in comparison to healthy controls.

OBJECTIVE

To describe activity of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QoL) at first visit to a neurological centre, in patients subsequently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD), according to subtype of disease and compared to healthy controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

99 patients and 31 controls were included. Patients were classified into three groups according to predominant symptoms: 50 Postural instability-gait difficulties (PIGD), 37 tremor dominant, 12 indeterminate. Evaluations included ADL-taxonomy, SF-36, and the Parkinson disease questionnaire (PDQ-39).

RESULTS

Patients experienced early on limitations in ADL and QoL compared to controls. Patients with PIGD subtype had already at first visit a worse status, clinically and in ADL and QoL, than patients with tremor dominant type.

CONCLUSIONS

Already at first visit to a neurological centre, patients who will eventually receive the diagnosis of PD exhibited restrictions in ADL and QoL. Patients with axial symptoms were affected most.