Parkinson's disease (PD) causes troubles in everyday life with the progress of motor symptoms, and requires care all day as it becomes severe. As the physical function gradually declines, maintaining the quality of life (QOL) is an important issue for PD patients. This study aimed to clarify QOL-related factors in PD patients focusing on depression and Sense of coherence (SOC). We conducted an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey with PD patients. Relationship of QOL with depression and SOC was analyzed through covariance structure analysis. Of 185 questionnaires distributed, there were 146 valid responses (response rate; 78.9%).
Results showed that “Meaningfulness” (0.46, p＜0.001), which is an SOC subscale, and depression (-0.31, p<0.001) were each significantly associated with QOL. Additionally, the Barthel Index (0.13, p<0.05) and “Feel free to consult medical personnel” showed a relationship with QOL (0.13, p<0.05). SOC subscales of “Comprehensibility” (-0.36, p<0.001), “Meaningfulness” (-0.39, p<0.001), and Barthel Index (-0.16, p<0.05) were each associated with depression.
From these results, the importance of SOC as a factor related to QOL was demonstrated, suggesting that it is especially important to increase “Meaningfulness” of SOC to increase QOL.
