Objective:

To compare the frequency and severity of autonomic symptoms in patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) with diabetes mellitus (DM) versus IPD without DM and the impact on their quality of life (QOL). 

Background:

Studies have shown that 9 out of every 10 IPD patients have at least one autonomic symptom. Diabetes mellitus (DM), a common comorbidity with a high prevalence among the Hispanic population, is also associated with autonomic symptoms. In this study we investigate if patients diagnosed with both IPD and DM in a Puerto Rican cohort have a higher frequency and severity of autonomic symptoms than patients diagnosed with IPD alone.  

Design/Methods:

This is an ongoing prospective, descriptive, observational analysis using data and questionnaires collected from a Puerto Rican cohort of IPD patients from a movement disorders clinic. Data collected includes demographic information, time since PD onset and DM diagnosis, and two questionnaires: SCOPA-AUT divided in various domains for autonomic symptoms and PDQ-39 to evaluate impact on QOL.  

Results:

Increase frequency of bulbar (67.5% vs 37.5%) and urinary (93.3% vs 55.5%) symptoms is observed in patients with concurrent IPD and DM vs IPD alone. In addition, a trend of higher PDQ-39 scores is seen in individuals with IPD and DM vs. those with IPD alone (mean score of 26/39 vs. 18/39). Descriptive statistics are used to calculate means, standard deviations and frequencies. 

Conclusions:

Among the main autonomic symptoms, urinary and bulbar appear to be more frequent and severe in patients with concurrent IPD and DM in our cohort. Simultaneously, worse PDQ39 scores are observed in patients with IPD and DM. The findings highlight the importance of identifying and considering the impact of comorbidities as DM in the evaluation of autonomic symptoms in IPD.