A descriptive study on symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in an Indian cohort from Karnataka

Introduction and Aim: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder with ever-changing motor and nonmotor symptoms. Disease treatment is modified accordingly with the progression of the disease. The present study was carried out to understand the symptoms reported by PD subjects in different phases of the disease. Materials and Methods: Demographic and clinical details were obtained using questionnaires to evaluate the frequency and severity of various motor and nonmotor symptoms experienced by the PD subjects. Results: Ageing was strongly associated with the onset of disease, whereas the BMI category adversely correlated with other motor symptoms (OMS), nonmotor symptoms (NMS), and specifically gastrointestinal symptoms. Tremors were the most troublesome cardinal motor symptoms, followed by stiffness and bradykinesia. The most common NMS were fatigue/tiredness, anxiety/depression, insomnia, constipation, and cognitive impairment. Anxiety and depression were positively associated with other NMS symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue and exhaustion, apathy, and gastrointestinal problems. More than half of our patients reported gastrointestinal discomfort, early satiety, appetite decrease, and bloating. In our present investigation, the most common gastrointestinal symptoms linked with constipation were straining evacuation, lumpy hard stool, and incomplete evacuation. Conclusion: We have analysed the frequency and trend of various symptoms associated with PD in an Indian population from Karnataka. A significant correlation exists between motor and nonmotor symptoms, which impacts the quality of life in PD during the course of the disease.