Objectives:

To determine the level of self-care and quality of life in a sample of patients in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease and identify the most highly affected dimensions of self-care and quality of life. To study the relationship between non-motor symptoms and these outcome measures.

Method:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 21 patients with stage I or II Parkinson’s disease as defined by the Hoenh Yarh Scale. We studied the level of self-care, quality of life, non-motor symptoms and perceived health status. Descriptive, inferential and correlation analyses were performed using SPSS v.20.

Results:

Mean sample age was 71.86 (SD(8.93) years old, and 52.4% were males. The mean score for self-care was 1.14 (SD(0.35), and the most highly affected dimension was medication use, with 61.9% of the sample presenting complete autonomy, while for quality of life it was 17.28 (SD(7.75), and the most highly affected dimension was bodily discomfort (m=35.03; SD(19.61). We observed a correlation between non-motor symptoms and quality of life (r=0.246; p=0.022), but not between non-motor symptoms and self-care (r=0.010; p=0.662).

Conclusions:

Our sample presented an accepTable level of self-care and quality of life. The most highly affected quality of life dimensions were bodily discomfort followed by cognitive impairment, and non-motor symptoms were related to the level of quality of life. It is important to consider these aspects when designing therapeutic education interventions targeting patients with Parkinson’s disease.

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