Correlations between Nutritional Status and Quality of Life of People with Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition that can impact the nutritional status, and such impact seems to be related to the quality of life (QoL).

To evaluate the correlation between anthropometric variables and the QoL of people with Parkinson's disease (PD).

This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study, carried out through the collection of anthropometric data and application of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire PDQ-39.

33 individuals (23 male) diagnosed with PD participated in the research, with a mean age of 58.9 ± 11.6 years. We observed overweight in 45.4% of participants. The perception of QoL showed lower scores for the subjects in the dimensions of body discomfort (75.3 ± 16.6), social support (62.7 ± 15.7), and mobility (61.0 ± 23.6). The correlation between the total QoL score and age (model 1, B = 0.347; CI 0.004-0.902; p = 0.048), which remained statistically significant in the multiple linear regression, regardless of gender (model 2, B = 0.365; CI 0.016-0.937; p = 0.043) and BMI (model 3, B = 0.363; CI 0.006-0.943; p = 0.047), suggests that, in the participants of this study, this relationship does not depend on gender and nutritional status.

The perception of QoL was worse in the dimensions of body discomfort, social support, and mobility, worsening with advanced age. Correlations between the worst scores in QoL dimensions and nutritional status were observed. A positive correlation was also identified between age and overall PDQ-39 score, regardless of gender and nutritional status.