Relationship between postural instability and gait disorders and quality of life among persons with Parkinson’s disease in India

Research

Objectives: To determine the relationship between postural instability and gait disorders and quality of life among persons with Parkinson’s disease in India.

Design: Cross-sectional survey
Setting: Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society (PDMDS), India
Participants: The study included 42 participants from various Parkinson’s Societies in India. Individuals between 45 and 80 years of age with a diagnosis of PD for over a year and with functional communication skills to complete the questionnaires were included. Individuals were excluded if they had any other comorbidity affecting their QoL.
Interventions: Not applicable
Main Outcome Measures: Self developed and validated PIGD questionnaire scores and Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life (PDQL) scores.

Results: PIGD scores had moderate to good correlation with PDQL total scores (r= -0.685, p< 0.001), moderate to good correlation with the domain scores of PDQL: Parkinsonian symptoms (r=-0.737, p< 0.001), Social functioning (r=-0.69, p< 0.001), Systemic symptoms (r=-0.556, p< 0.001), and low to fair correlation with the Emotional functioning domain (r=-0.504, p< 0.01).

Conclusions: Higher PIGD scores were correlated with poorer quality of life in PwPD. This suggests that rehabilitation interventions should focus on managing PIGD features to improve quality of life among PwPD.
Author(s) Disclosures: All authors report that there is no conflict of interest.