Abstract
Background: Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are often associated with a negative impact on the patients’ quality of life and on their weight regulation. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, apathy, fatigue, depression, and motor symptoms on weight regulation in PD patients. Methods: We analyzed 112 participants, 63 PD patients (mean age ± SD: 69.2 ± 10.1), and 49 controls (mean age ± SD: 68 ± 9.6). For each participant we collected age, weight, height, BMI, olfactory and gustatory function, cognitive performance, apathy and fatigue. Results: Our data showed that 61.9% (n = 39) of PD patients had hyposmia, while 38.1% (n = 24) had anosmia. In PD patients, we observed a significant effect of Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), apathy, odor threshold, sweet perception and fatigue on weight regulation. Instead, there was no significant effect for depression and levodopa equivalent daily dosage (LEDD). Conclusion: Our results suggest that PD non-motor symptoms such as olfactory/gustatory deficits and mood disorders may influence body weight.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder associated with motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor and postural instability
Our results suggest that PD non-motor symptoms such as olfactory/gustatory deficits and mood disorders may influence body weight
PD is generally associated with non-motor symptoms (NMSs) like olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions, sleep problems, autonomic dysregulation and neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as apathy, anxiety and cognitive impairment [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Summary
PD is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder associated with motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor and postural instability. One of the NMSs frequently neglected, usually precedes the appearance of motor symptoms in PD [7] This change may range from weight loss to weight gain in relation to the different stages of the disease. Subjects were affected by weight loss prior to PD diagnosis, while in the first 10 years after the diagnosis they showed weight gain, and renewed weight loss when the disease advances [8,9]. The mechanism underlying this weight change in PD patients is controversial. In PD patients, we observed a significant effect of Unified Parkinson’s Disease
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