Table 3.
Relationship between PDQ-39 items and presence/absence of “OFF” episodes (N = 722)
| PDQ-39 items | Odds ratio (95% CI)a |
P value |
|---|---|---|
| Mobility | ||
| Had difficulty doing the leisure activities which you would like to do | 2.2 (1.5, 3.0) | < 0.001 |
| Had difficulty looking after your home | 1.9 (1.4, 2.6) | < 0.001 |
| Had difficulty carrying bags of shopping | 1.7 (1.2, 2.3) | 0.002 |
| Had problems walking half a mile | 1.4 (1.0, 2.0) | 0.028 |
| Had problems walking 100 yards | 2.0 (1.5, 2.7) | < 0.001 |
| Had problems getting around the house as easily as you would like | 2.2 (1.6, 3.0) | < 0.001 |
| Had difficulty getting around in public | 1.8 (1.3, 2.6) | < 0.001 |
| Needed someone else to accompany you when you went out | 1.9 (1.3, 2.6) | 0.001 |
| Felt frightened or worried about falling over in public | 1.5 (1.0, 2.1) | 0.040 |
| Been confined to the house more than you would like | 2.5 (1.9, 3.3) | < 0.001 |
| Activities of daily living | ||
| Had difficulty washing yourself | 1.8 (1.3, 2.4) | < 0.001 |
| Had difficulty dressing yourself | 1.8 (1.3, 2.4) | < 0.001 |
| Had problems doing up buttons or shoelaces | 1.7 (1.3, 2.3) | 0.001 |
| Had problems writing clearly | 2.2 (1.6, 2.9) | < 0.001 |
| Had problems cutting up your food | 1.4 (1.0, 2.0) | 0.027 |
| Had difficulty holding a drink without spilling it | 1.3 (0.9, 1.8) | 0.108 |
| Emotional well-being | ||
| Felt depressed | 1.3 (0.9, 1.9) | 0.176 |
| Felt isolated and lonely | 1.7 (1.2, 2.3) | 0.003 |
| Felt weepy or tearful | 1.5 (1.0, 2.1) | 0.055 |
| Felt angry or bitter | 1.5 (1.1, 2.1) | 0.014 |
| Felt anxious | 1.5 (1.0, 2.2) | 0.026 |
| Felt worried about your future | 1.2 (0.8, 1.8) | 0.391 |
| Stigma | ||
| Felt you had to conceal your Parkinson’s from people | 1.3 (0.9, 1.8) | 0.127 |
| Avoided situations which involve eating or drinking in public | 1.5 (1.1, 2.1) | 0.010 |
| Felt embarrassed in public due to having Parkinson’s disease | 1.3 (0.9, 1.8) | 0.100 |
| Felt worried by other people’s reaction to you | 1.2 (0.9, 1.7) | 0.246 |
| Social support | ||
| Had problems with your close personal relationships | 1.5 (1.0, 2.1) | 0.048 |
| Lacked support in the ways you need from your spouse or partner | 1.2 (0.8, 2.0) | 0.399 |
| Lacked support in the ways you need from your family or close friends | 1.3 (0.8, 2.0) | 0.295 |
| Cognitions | ||
| Unexpectedly fallen asleep during the day | 1.8 (1.3, 2.5) | < 0.001 |
| Had problems with your concentration | 2.1 (1.5, 2.9) | < 0.001 |
| Felt your memory was bad | 1.3 (1.0, 1.9) | 0.090 |
| Had distressing dreams or hallucinations | 1.8 (1.3, 2.5) | < 0.001 |
| Communication | ||
| Had difficulty with your speech | 3.4 (2.3, 4.9) | < 0.001 |
| Felt unable to communicate with people properly | 3.2 (2.3, 4.5) | < 0.001 |
| Felt ignored by people | 2.0 (1.4, 2.9) | < 0.001 |
| Bodily discomfort | ||
| Had painful muscle cramps or spasms | 1.2 (0.8, 1.9) | 0.328 |
| Had aches and pains in your joints or body | 1.1 (0.7, 1.7) | 0.801 |
| Felt unpleasantly hot or cold | 1.3 (0.9, 1.9) | 0.189 |
aOdds ratio for difference between patients with/without “OFF” episodes from ordered logistic regression; an odds ratio > 1 indicates higher likelihood of problems in a PDQ-39 item, indicating poorer health-related quality of life, in patients with “OFF” episodes compared with patients without “OFF” episodes
CI confidence interval; PDQ-39 39-item Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire