Presentations of nonmotor symptoms by sex and onset age in people with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Background:There is growing evidence that sex and onset age are important factorsof clinical features in Parkinson's disease.Aim:The study aimed to identify nonmotor symptoms based on sex and onset age inpeople with Parkinson's disease.

Design:This is a cross-sectional descriptive study.Methods:A total of 210 participants were recruited from the university hospital andthe Parkinson's disease association. This study measured the Korean version of thenonmotor symptoms questionnaire which includes gastrointestinal, urinary, apathy/attention/memory, hallucination/delusions, depression/anxiety, sexual function, car-diovascular, sleep disorder, and miscellaneous domains.

Results:All participants reported at least one nonmotor symptom. The most com-monly reported symptoms were nocturia (65.7%) and constipation (61.9%). The maleparticipants reported more dribbling of saliva, constipation, and impaired sexual func-tion, whereas the female reported more weight change. Young-onset people withParkinson's disease reported more depression than late-onset people with Parkin-son's disease.

Conclusion:This study contributes to the understanding of symptom experiencebeyond motor-related symptomatology for those with Parkinson's disease and addsto the current literature. Individualized symptom assessment and management shouldbe provided by prioritizing prevalent sex or onset age-specific symptoms, rather thanaddressing with all nonmotor symptoms.