Quality of life in Parkinson's disease: A gender-specific perspective

The epidemiology, manifestations, and course of Parkinson's disease (PD) may differ in men and women. Assessments of severity of the illness and quality of life (QoL), and the burden on their caregivers (CG) may change as the disease advances. We determined gender differences in assessment by patients with PD themselves and by their CGs.

Married couples in whom one of the partners was a PD patient and his/her spouse served as CG were separately evaluated. The patient completed the PD QoL Questionnaire (PDQ-39), and the spouse completed the Multidimensional Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI). Comparisons were performed using statistical tests.

We studied 122 patient-CG pairs consisting of 86 (70.5%) male patients. Female patients reported reduced QoL due to depression and pain. Worsening of QoL in advanced PD was reported only by male patients. Female CGs felt exhaustion and damage to their health resulting from care twice as often as male CG. Social constraint and time limitations were more frequent in female CGs, whereas in male CGs it remained the same. With increasing disease severity female CGs reported that manipulations and excessive demands from their male spouses increased, while male CGs reported the same level in female patients. Male CGs, unexpectedly considered themselves more free as PD advanced in their spouses.

Male and female PD patients and CGs assess differently the severity and burden of the disease. Clinicians and social workers should be aware of these factors in attempting to improve QoL of PD patients and CGs.