Objective: To explore the associations between multimorbidity, severity of motor symptoms, and quality of life (QoL) in people with early PD.

Background: Multimorbidity is defined as the presence of two or more long-term conditions and increases with age as well as social deprivation. Recent guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK focuses on the assessment and management of people with long-term conditions. They highlight ‘target groups’ such as those with physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). To date there has been a paucity of research in multimorbidity and neurodegenerative diseases such as PD.

Methods: 154 participants (mean age=66.4±10.4 years) with newly diagnosed PD (mean disease duration=6.0±4.6 months) completed assessments of motor severity (Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III, MDS-UPDRS-III), cognition and QoL (Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire, PDQ-39). Multimorbidity was defined by disease count, medication count and age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index. Regression analyses were performed to determine whether multimorbidity was significantly associated with disease severity and QoL.

Results: Cognition and depression score were significant predictors of motor severity, however, the addition of multimorbidity measures did not yield significant results. Age, years of education and MDS-UPDRS-III were significant predictors of QoL. Multimorbidity significantly improved the model for QoL, with all-prescribed medication count showing the largest effect (ΔR2=0.065, β=0.279, p<0.001).

Conclusions: The presence of multimorbidity was a small but significant predictor of QoL in people with newly diagnosed PD. It did not influence not motor severity. These results highlight the importance of identifying patients with PD and multimorbidity, as those patients may benefit from a tailored multidisciplinary approach to care.

References: This abstract was also presented at the British Geriatrics Society meeting, London, UK, November 22-24th, 2017.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/multimorbidity-predicts-quality-of-life-but-not-motor-severity-in-early-parkinsons-disease/