Abstract
Objectives: There is limited information about the dietary habits of patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD), or associations of diet with clinical PD features. We report on nutritional intake in an Australian PD cohort.Methods: 103 PD patients and 81 healthy controls (HCs) completed a validated, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Food and nutrient intake was quantified, with consideration of micronutrients and macronutrients (energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, and added sugar). Participants also completed PD-validated non-motor symptom questionnaires to determine any relationships between dietary intake and clinical disease features.Results: Mean daily energy intake did not differ considerably between PD patients and HCs (11,131 kJ/day vs. 10,188 kJ/day, p = 0.241). However, PD patients reported greater total carbohydrate intake (279 g/day vs. 232 g/day, p = 0.034). This was largely attributable to increased daily sugar intake (153 g/day vs. 119 g/day, p = 0.003) and in particular free sugars (61 g/day vs. 41 g/day, p = 0.001). PD patients who (1) experienced chronic pain, (2) were depressed, or (3) reported an impulse control disorder, consumed more total sugars than HCs (all p < 0.05). Increased sugar consumption was associated with an increase in non-motor symptoms, including poorer quality of life, increased constipation severity and greater daily levodopa dose requirement.Conclusions: We provide clinically important insights into the dietary habits of PD patients that may inform simple dietary modifications that could alleviate disease symptoms and severity. The results of this study support clinician led promotion of healthy eating and careful management of patient nutrition as part of routine care.
Highlights
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and is associated with significant morbidity (1)
PD patients were not underweight and their body mass index (BMI) (25.7 [SD 5.2]) did not differ significantly from healthy control (HC) (26.2 [SD 4.6], p = 0.485). 5.5% of subjects reported a history of diabetes, with no statistically significant difference observed between the groups for this measure
The results of this study provide novel and clinically important insights into the dietary habits of Australian PD patients
Summary
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and is associated with significant morbidity (1). It is characterised by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and a deficiency of dopamine in the striatum and other basal ganglia structures. PD patients are more frequently underweight (3, 4), have a higher risk of malnutrition (5) and tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) (6) that inversely associates with disease duration, disease severity and levodopa-related motor complications (7). It has been suggested that lower dietary intake of poly-unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B12, vitamin D and folic acid are associated with an increased risk of developing PD (8, 9), this remains controversial. PD patients are purported to display a preference for sweet foods, such as cakes (11), chocolate (12), ice cream (13), milk puddings and custards (14), consistent with an increased consumption of carbohydrates (7, 15, 16)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
