Social and clinical determinants of quality of life in Parkinson’s disease in Austria: a cohort study

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with a reduction of health-related quality of life (HrQoL). Demographic and clinical determinants of HrQoL in PD have been previously investigated, but less is known about its social determinants. Data on HrQoL in Austrian patients with PD are not available. The objective of this cross-sectional survey was to evaluate HrQoL of Austrian patients with PD and to provide a comprehensive analysis of its social and clinical determinants. Outpatients ( n = 100) with idiopathic PD were recruited in the Department of Neurology of the University Innsbruck. Clinical status was estimated using the Unified Parkison’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). HrQoL was evaluated using a generic instrument, the EuroQol (EQ5D and EQ-VAS). Independent determinants of HrQoL were assessed in multivariate regression analysis. The proportion of PD patients with moderate or severe problems in at least one dimension of the EQ5D was significantly higher than in the general population (90.1 vs. 35.1%, P