M. Katsikitis et al., AN AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY STUDY OF PARKINSONS-DISEASE .1. DISEASE SEVERITY AND FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY, Australian journal on ageing, 15(1), 1996, pp. 22-26
Demographic, clinical and physical information Iras obtained from 200
volunteers who had Parkinson's disease (PD). The clinical history reve
aled minimal social and psychological impairment. Physical difficultie
s such as mobility and restless legs were reported as the most trouble
some symptoms of PD. A disease severity score,ras calculated by the ad
dition of the ratings from the physical examination to a scaled score
obtained from afoot tapping exercise. Over half of the sample had dise
ase severity scores which,were less than or equal to thee mean of the
entire sample. Functional disability Iras measured by the Sickness Imp
act Profile (SIP) and the highest dysfunction scores were in the areas
of recreation and pastimes, alertness behaviour communication and hom
e management. Functional disability,ras significantly positively corre
lated with age and duration of illness.