Application and assessment of quality of life questionnaires in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD), a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, is a complex disorder with motor impairment and non-motor manifestations that result in progressive disability and severe complications that have a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). Most of the available QoL instruments depend on written questionnaires. In this review, current possibilities of evaluation of QoL in Parkinson's disease have been critically presented, including universal questionnaires of QoL and the specific ones. The various non-motor symptoms significantly affect patients' QoL. Because of that, instruments for the assessment of depression, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disorders and fatigue in Parkinson's disease were also described. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2014.04.005