Validity of international classification of functioning, disability, and health core set in patients with Parkinson's disease and the correlation with other Parkinson scales

Objectives: Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (IPD) is a movement disorder that cause tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability and deterioration quality of life. To assess the disease different scales can be used: The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) for clinical severity, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ39) to assess quality of life, Beck Depression Scale (BD) for mood assessment and Hoehn Yahr Scale (HY) for clinical staging. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a classification to develop an international common language for the evaluation of the functionality and disability of patients. We aimed to compare validity and efficacy of ICF classification with other scales. Materials and Methods: Thirty-one patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease were evaluated. PDQ39, UPDRS, Hoehn Yahr, Beck Depression Scale and 'Brief ICF core set for hand condition' which was recommended for Parkinson's disease were applied to patients. The brief ICF core set and other scales were compared and assessed if there was any correlation. For analyzes, the MedCalc Statistical Software version 12.7.7 programme was used. Results: The mean age of the IPD patients was 68.3 +/- 6.9 years and 71% of them were female (22) and 29% were male (9). According to ICF codes, patients who have eight or more corrupted codes were recorded as 'major code impairment patients', and those with less than eight codes recorded as 'minor code impairment patients'. The total UPDRS score of major code impairment patients was 58.4 +/- 29.8, while the mean score of minor code impairment patients was 21.2 +/- 14.05. The PDQ39 score of major code impairment patients was 66.4 +/- 24.1, while the mean score of minor code impairment patients was 19.3 +/- 13.5. According to Hoehn Yahr stage, the ratio of stage 1 were higher in minor ICF patients. Conclusion: While assessing the functioning of the Parkinson's disease patients, we need comprehensive scales that include many parameters. The ICF coding system is an international system, which is very important to develop a common language. The significant correlation between ICF coding system and other scales in our Parkinson's patients, shows the validity of the coding system.