Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with intractable neurological diseases (N = 74).
| Age | 63.9 ± 12.0 |
| Sex | |
| Male | 38 (51.4) |
| Female | 36 (48.6) |
| Disease name | |
| Parkinson's disease | 42 (56.8) |
| Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | 3 (4.1) |
| Spinocerebellar | 10 (13.5) |
| Multiple sclerosis | 7 (9.5) |
| Multiple system atrophy | 4 (5.4) |
| Myasthenia gravis | 3 (4.1) |
| Other | 5 (6.8) |
| Age at disease onset | 55.9 ± 13.6 |
| Duration of illness (years) | 7.95 ± 5.49 |
| Living status | |
| Alone | 6 (8.1) |
| With family | 68 (91.9) |
| Caregiver | |
| Family members | 45 (60.8) |
| Home care workers | 7 (9.5) |
| Not having caregiver | 22 (29.7) |
| ADL | |
| Independent group | 37 (50.0) |
| Low-level care group | 15 (20.3) |
| High-level care group | 22 (29.7) |
| WHOQOL-BREF | |
| Total WHOQOL score | 11.6 ± 2.4 |
| Physical health (domain 1) | 11.2 ± 3.2 |
| Psychological well-being (domain 2) | 11.5 ± 3.3 |
| Social relationships (domain 3) | 12.0 ± 3.2 |
| Environment (domain 4) | 12.0 ± 2.3 |
Data are expressed as frequency (%) and mean ± standard deviation (SD).