Study highlights need for holistic assessment and care plans
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Sept. 22, 2026
- Parkinson's disease significantly affects a patient's health-related quality of life, beyond traditional motor symptoms.
- Quality-of-life determinants include age, sex, coping strategies, social support, stigma, depression, and sexual dysfunction.
- Experts recommend shifting toward holistic assessment and care plans that integrate mental, social, and sexual health support.
Demographics, social experiences, mental health, and sexual well-being are among factors playing significant roles in shaping health-related quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease, a study from Ethiopia showed.
“The age of participants, sex, coping [strategies], social support, [Parkinson’s]-related stigma, depression, sexual dysfunction and health satisfaction were independent predictors of [health-related quality of life],” the researchers wrote.
The scientists said their finding “underscores the need for holistic assessment and care that integrates psychosocial and sexual health support alongside routine care” in Parkinson’s.
An early-access version of the study, “Sexual, mental, and multidimensional determinants of health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease using the revised Wilson and Cleary model,” was published in Scientific Reports.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that can affect a person’s quality of life in profound ways. The disease is defined by motor symptoms like slowness and balance problems, but people with Parkinson’s also commonly experience nonmotor symptoms, which can range from mental health problems to digestive upset to sexual dysfunction.
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