An Australian Community Study of Parkinson's Disease: 1. Disease Severity and Functional Disability.

Abstract

Demographic, clinical and physical information was obtainedfrom 200 volunteers who had Parkinson's disease PD). The clinical history revealed minimal social and psychological impairment. Physical difficulties such as mobility and restless legs were reported as the most troublesome symptoms of PD. A disease seventy score was calculated by the addition of the ratingsfrom the physical examination to a scaled score obtainedfrom a foot tapping exercise. Over halfof the sample had disease seventy scores which were less than or equal to the mean of the entire sample. Functional disability was measured by the Sickness Impact ProJile (SIP) and the highest dysfunction scores were in the areas of recreation and oastimes, alemess behaviour, communication and home management. Functional disability was significantly positively correlated with age and duration of illness.

Work and recreational changes among people with neurological illness and their caregivers

“…For people with Parkinson's the main factors limiting their recreational activities appeared to be physical difficulties such as mobility and restless legs [19]. Decreasing mobility among people with Parkinson's was also found to be the major factor limiting leisure activities by [20].…”

Identifying seminal papers in the Australasian Journal on Ageing 1982–2011: A Delphi consensus approach

“…Overall, 14 themes were rated, and 18 articles scored 70 or over . Fourteen articles with over 15 citations (range 16–34 citations) were identified , two of which overlapped with the Round 1 selected articles , providing 30 abstracts for Round 2.…”