Economic burden and quality of life impairment increase with severity of PD

Purpose. To define the interrelationship between cost-of-illness, quality of life (QoL) and Parkinson's disease (PD) severity in a common patient management setting in Finland. Scope. Two hundred and sixty consecutive outpatients with idiopathic PD participated. UPDRS, motor fluctuations, QoL, and the use of health care resources were measured. Direct and indirect costs were calculated. Conclusions. There is a strong relationship between QoL or cost-of-illness on the one hand, and severity of PD on the other. Treatment policies capable of reducing or delaying motor fluctuations would be expected to increase QoL and reduce some of the economic burden of PD. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.