Prevalence of Non-motor Symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease: A Study from South India

Objective: Non-motor symptoms (NMS) play a vital role in managing Parkinson’s disease (PD) and have become the leading cause of deterioration of quality of life with the progression of the disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of NMS in PD with disease duration. Materials and Methods: We selected 75 patients with PD prospectively and all patients were diagnosed according to the United Kingdom PD Brain Bank criteria. All patients were trichotomized based on disease duration (≤4 years, 5-8 years and ≥9 years). The NMS screening questionnaire comprising 30 items was completed by all patients. Results: Out of 75 patients, men constituted 82.6%, the mean age was 59.2±1.51 (range, 45-69) years. The overall prevalence of NMS was 100%. Among the patients with a disease duration of ≤4 years, 5-8 years, and ≥9 years, gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in 38%, 48%, and 86.2%; cardiovascular dysfunction in 47.6%, 44%, and 82.7%; urinary problems in 38%, 40%, and 72.4%; poor sexual performance in 42.8%, 40%, and 79.3%; sleep disturbance in 38%, 36%, and 75.8%; anxiety in 33.3%, 40%, and 79.3%; hallucinations in 33.3%, 36%, and 72.4%; and cognition problems in 38%, 32%, and 72.4%, respectively. Significantly higher prevalences of gastrointestinal symptoms (p=0.006), cardiovascular dysfunctions (p=0.007), urinary problems (p=0.03), poor sexual performance (p=0.007), sleep disturbances (p=0.007), anxiety (p=0.007), hallucinations (p=0.03), and cognitive problems (p=0.007) were noted in patients with ≥9 years disease duration. Conclusion: Our study established that 100% of patients with PD had at least one NMS and there was a higher prevalence of NMS among those with disease duration more than 9 years.