Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life between People with Parkinson’s Disease and Non-Parkinson’s: Using Data Drawn from the ‘100 for Parkinson’s’ Smartphone-Based Prospective Study

Abstract

Background: This study aims to assess the specific difference of the health-related quality of life between people with Parkinson’s and non-Parkinson’s. Methods: A total of 1710 people were drawn from a prospective study with a smartphone-based survey named ‘100 for Parkinson’s’ to assess health-related quality of life. The EQ-5D-5L descriptive system and the EQ visual analogue scale were used to measure health-related quality of life and a linear mixed model was used to analyze the difference. Results: The mean difference of EQ-5D-5L index values between people with Parkinson’s and non-Parkinson’s was 0.15 (95%CI: 0.12, 0.18) at baseline; it changed to 0.17 (95%CI: 0.14, 0.20) at the end of study. The mean difference of EQ visual analogue scale scores between them increased from 10.18 (95%CI: 7.40, 12.96) to 12.19 (95%CI: 9.41, 14.97) from baseline to the end of study. Conclusion: Data can be captured from the participants’ own smart devices and support the notion that health-related quality of life for people with Parkinson’s is lower than non-Parkinson’s. This analysis provides useful evidence for the EQ-5D instrument and is helpful for public health specialists and epidemiologists to assess the health needs of people with Parkinson’s and indirectly improve their health status.