Occupational performance skills in Parkinson’s disease: relationship with health-related quality of life and caregiver burden

BACKGROUND. The progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD) results in a loss of ability to performance activities of daily living and health-related quality of life. The objectives of this study were to establish the relations between occupational performance skills and health-related quality of life, and the degree of caregiver burden in PD patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Forty-nine patients at different stages of PD according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale participated in the study. Patients were assessed using the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), the EuroQoL (EQ-5D), the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS), and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZCBI). RESULTS. Strong correlations were found between the motor skills section of the AMPS scale and the PDQ-39 (r = –0.76; p = 0.001), and the EQ-5D questionnaires (r = 0.72; p = 0.001), while moderate correlations were found with the process skills. AMPS process skills were moderately correlated with mobility and activities of daily living. The ZCBI was only weakly correlated with the AMPS motor skills (r = –0.34; p = 0.02). CONCLUSION. Declining scores on the AMPS scale are closely related to the loss of health-related quality of life in PD patients, and, to a lesser extent, with the degree of caregiver burden.