The Occurrence of Fatigue in Independent and Clinically Stable Filipino Patients with Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease

BACKGROUND Fatigue is a multidimensional problem affecting patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD). It is ranked as one of the most bothersome symptom of patients with Parkinson's disease. The study primarily aims to determine the presence of fatigue among clinically stable and independent Filipino patients suffering from idiopathic PD. METHODS This study is a prospective cross-sectional study. Recruited patients and control group were all Filipinos. Only independent patients with idiopathic, stable and non-fluctuating PD were included in the study. Those eligible underwent a multitude of screening tests to rule out presence of dementia (Mini Mental Status Examination, MMSE), depression (Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, MADRS), anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Scale, HAM-A) and sleep disturbance. Disease severity was assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and fatigue severity using both the Multicomponent Fatigue Index (MFI) and Fatigue Severity Inventory (FSI). RESULTS Twenty-eight patients underwent the study. The mean Hoehn and Yahr staging was 1.79. Patients with PD scored higher on both FSI and MFI (individual dimension scores and total score) as compared to the normal controls. CONCLUSIONS The outcome of the study confirmed the presence of fatigue (general, physical, mental), even in clinically stable and independent patients suffering from idiopathic PD, when compared with age-matched healthy controls.