Fatigue most common Parkinson’s symptom reported by app users
Mood, sleep problems also among top complaints
Fatigue is the most common complaint among people with Parkinson’s disease, according to anecdotal data from a free app that allows patients or caregivers to complete daily check-ins and rate how they feel.
In the nine months since the launch of Parkinson’s On, more than 2,500 patients and caregivers have shared their experiences through the app, with more than 160,000 symptom reports that provide insights of what life is like with Parkinson’s, according to the app’s developer, Kuhan Pushparatnam.
“I really hope these insights can help not only our community and their healthcare teams, but also researchers grappling with their understanding of this degenerative condition,” Pushparatnam said in a Parkinson’s Europe news story.
Problems with mood and sleep came second and third in the top symptoms, suggesting that non-motor symptoms may have the greatest effect on patients’ quality of life.
Motor symptoms, a hallmark of Parkinson’s, were reported less frequently, with tremors coming fourth. An analysis of the daily check-ins revealed that the more physically active patients were, the better their day was, suggesting that staying active may help manage the disease.
Painting the ‘big picture’
Pushparatnam received a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2013 at age 38. With a background in mobile technology, he wanted to develop an app that would help other patients manage their symptoms on a day-to-day basis and feel more in control of their lives.
“I also wanted people to better understand their Parkinson’s. I wanted both the big picture and the individual portrait. The anonymised data gleaned from Parkinson’s ON app is starting to paint that big picture,” said Pushparatnam, who co-hosts a podcast called ‘2 Parkies in a Pod.’
Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects movement and coordination as well as cognition and memory, which can limit daily activities.
“I’ve always believed tech, when done right, can be a great enabler in daily life,” Pushparatnam said. “So, I set out to build a simple, ‘Parky-friendly’ app that would not only empower those of us living with the condition, but ultimately allow for a better, more informed quality of care.”
Pushparatnam self-funded the app’s launch last year. Since then, with funding from Parkinson’s UK, the app has been updated and expanded. Parkinson’s UK is a member organization of Parkinson’s Europe.
Users can stay on time with their medication through simple setup, reminders for what medication to take and when, and one-click logging to track when the medication is taken. They can also stay on track by completing daily check-ins to rate their symptoms and log daily activities.
A personalized dashboard shows trends in treatment adherence, symptoms, and daily activities, along with access to special content like a ‘Yoga for Parkinson’s’ series, strategies to help with anxiety and sleep problems, and bonus episodes of the ‘2 Parkies in a Pod’ podcast.
Features include a diary, a shareable medication card, and an audio format for news and research. The app also helps users plan mealtimes around their medication and track off periods, which are times when medication stops working well and symptoms return.
Parkinson’s On is free to download from both Google Play and the Apple App Store.
About the Author
