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Pharmacotherapy and generic health‐related quality of life in Parkinson's disease
Author(s) -
Järvelä J. T.,
Kaasinen V.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/ane.12531
Subject(s) - medicine , pharmacotherapy , quality of life (healthcare) , levodopa , parkinson's disease , observational study , disease , physical therapy , nursing
Objectives Improvement of health‐related quality of life ( HRQoL ) is one of the primary objectives of symptomatic therapies in Parkinson's disease ( PD ). The aim of this observational study was to investigate possible changes in generic HRQoL in relation to changed PD pharmacotherapy in the clinical setting. Materials & methods A total of 219 outpatients with mild to moderate PD (median H&Y score = 2.0), treated with oral antiparkinsonian medications, were investigated twice with a 6‐month interval. At baseline, PD medication dose was increased for 82 patients for clinical reasons (median increase of 100 mg levodopa equivalent daily dose or 31.9%), whereas medication remained unchanged for 137 patients. Two generic HRQoL questionnaires, EQ ‐5D and 15D, were used at baseline and at 6 months, and the baseline and delta HRQoL values were compared between the treatment groups. Results In the entire sample, the EQ ‐ VAS score decreased during the study period, indicating a general decline in HRQoL ( P = 0.04). There were no differences in the baseline HRQoL values or delta values between the treatment groups as measured with EQ ‐5D or 15D (levodopa dose elevated vs dopamine agonist/ MAO ‐B inhibitor dose elevated vs no change in medication). Conclusions An approximately 1/3 increase in antiparkinsonian medication dose did not have an impact on generic HRQoL . Disease‐specific QoL may be more sensitive to pharmacotherapy‐related changes in PD .