Balance and gait disturbances and quality of life in patients with idiopathic parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the balance, gait, and quality of life of patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and healthy controls (HCs). Materials and Methods: The present study included 26 patients with PD, 14 patients with PSP, and 22 HCs. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), and the Turkish version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were administered to all participants. The Parkinson ’s disease questionnaire (PDQ-39) and Unified PD Rating Scale were evaluated only among patients with PD and PSP. Results: There was a significant difference between PD and PSP in terms of BBS, DGI, and all variables of PDQ-39 except “social support” (P < 0.05). Although a significant difference was found between patients with PSP and HCs in the BBS and DGI, there was no significant difference between patients with PD and HCs in the DGI and BBS. Further, the BBS and DGI were strongly correlated regarding the “mobility” and “activities of daily living” variables of the PDQ-39 and moderately correlated in terms of “total scores of PDQ-39,” “stigma,” and “communication” subscores. The MMSE was moderately associated with “total scores of PDQ-39” and the “mobility” subscore. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a significant deterioration in balance, gait, and the quality of life in patients with PSP compared with PD and HCs. However, there was no difference between patients with PD and HCs.