Functioning and disability in Parkinson's disease

To describe functioning and disability of patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) according to the model endorsed by the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF).

Adult PD patients were consecutively enrolled. The ICF checklist and the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHO-DAS II) were administered in individual sessions. Hoehn and Yahr Staging (HY) was used to define PD severity. Descriptive analyses have been performed to report on HY and WHO-DAS II scores. ICF categories reported as a problem by more than 20% of patients are described in detail.

Ninety-six patients with PD (mean age 64.1, 33.3% females) were enrolled, 48.4% of them were in HY class 2. WHO-DAS II mean score was 18.1 and the most severe limitations are reported in getting around and in participation to social situations. A total of 71 ICF categories reached the threshold of 20%, mostly derived from Activities and Participation domain.

We reported information on a broad set of domains, expanding those PD-specific, such as reduced mobility. Our results are useful to define what dimensions have to be considered to expand disability assessment in patients with PD, considering both symptoms, activities and the role of environmental factors.