Malnutrition and Associated Motor and Non-motor Factors in People with Parkinson's Disease.

Abstract

People with Parkinson's disease (PwP) are at higher risk of developing malnutrition. Several factors have been suggested to be involved including motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, and treatment-related complications. The objective of the study was to analyze the combined effect of motor, non-motor, and pharmacological factors in the risk of malnutrition in PwP. Eighty-seven consecutive PwP were included in the study. Clinical data and pharmacological treatment were collected. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire. Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Non-motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale HAM-D, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment were applied. Thirty (34.4%) PwP were at risk of malnutrition and seven had malnutrition (8%). Abnormal nutritional status was associated with lower education, higher MDSUPDRS Parts I, II, and III and total scores, and higher scores in the NMSS domain of sleep disorders and fatigue. MDS-UPDRS motor score remained as a determinant of abnormal nutritional status, defined as MNA < 23.5, with an odds ratio 1.1 (95% confidence interval 1.01-1.10, p = 0.02). The main factor associated with nutritional status was severity of the motor symptoms as assessed by the MDS-UPDRS Part III. Non-motor symptoms and treatment-related complications were not associated with malnutrition.