Non-Motor Symptoms and Their Associated Factors in Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Parkinson’s disease is a common neurologic ailment that causes tremor and bradykinesia. The prevalence
of Parkinson’s disease is estimated to be 1–2 in 1000, affecting about 1% of the population over the age of 60 years. The
objective of this study was to find the frequency of Non-Motor Symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and
its association with various factors.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar for 1 year from 1st Oct
2019- 30th Sep 2020. A total of 68 patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) were included by consecutive
nonprobability sampling. Non-motor symptoms (NMS) were evaluated and noted in a predesigned proforma. Data was
entered and analyzed by SPSS 21.

Results: The age of the participants was 62.10±10.01 years. 58.82%(n=40) were males, 47.05%(n=32) belonged to urban
residence. Mean duration of illness was 4.52±3.82 years. NMS were found in 100% (n=68) patients. Among NMS, sleep
disturbance
was the most common symptom found in 77.9% (n=53) followed by constipation that was present in 75%
(n=51) of patients. Among associated factors with NMS, hallucinations were significantly associated with advanced age
(P = 0.004). Orthostatic hypotension was associated with longer duration of disease (P = 0.03). Depression was
significantly associated with other comorbid states.

Conclusion: Non-Motor Symptoms were seen in all the patients presenting to Neurology OPD of Rehman Medical
Institute. The most common NMS was sleep disturbance followed by constipation and depression. Hallucinations were
observed significantly more in elderly patients. CLICK TO REVIEW

Key Words: Depression, Orthostatic hypotension, Parkinson disease