Long-Lasting Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Their Relatives

Wolff, Andreas Wolfgang; Haller, Bernhard; Demleitner, Antonia Franziska; Puerner, Dominik; Niederschweiberer, Johanna; Cordts, Isabell; Westenberg, Erica und Lingor, Paul (2023): Long-Lasting Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Their Relatives. In: Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Bd. 10, Nr. 5: S. 819-823

Abstract

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has heavily impacted medical care of patients with Parkinson's disease (PwP).Objective To assess the longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PwP and their relatives in Germany.Methods Two online, nationwide, cross-sectional surveys were conducted from December 2020 to March 2021 and from July to September 2021.Results A total of 342 PwP and 113 relatives participated. Despite partial resumption of social and group activities, healthcare was continuously disrupted during times of loosened restrictions. Respondents' willingness to use telehealth infrastructure increased, yet the availability remained low. PwP reported worsened symptoms and further deterioration during the pandemic, resulting in an increase in new symptoms and relatives' burden. We identified patients at particular risk: young patients and those with long disease duration.Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic persistently disrupts the care and quality of life of PwP. Although willingness to use telemedicine services has increased, its availability needs to be improved.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin > Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• Sprache: Englisch
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 390857198