Impact of Parkinson's disease on patients' adolescent and adult children

We assessed the impact of Parkinson's disease (PD) on the well-being of patients' adolescent and adult children. Eighty-nine participants aged 12-48 completed a number of questionnaires on quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial variables. One fifth of the participants were mildly to moderately depressed, and children below the age of 18 years scored similarly to children with epilepsy in the domains of Attitude, School behaviour, and Social support on a QoL instrument for children with epilepsy. The impact of parental PD increased with disease duration. Younger children perceived a higher burden of daily help and impact on their social interactions than older children, while older participants reported greater impairment of family functioning. More than 50% felt that they did not have sufficient information about PD and half of all participants felt that more information would reduce their feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. PD has a marked effect on the well-being of the adult and adolescent children of patients. The difficulties of children of parents with PD should receive greater attention. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.