Objective: To verify the clinical observation that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have a higher consumption of monosaccharides.

Background: Patients with PD frequently report an exceptionally high intake of monosaccharides, including mainly chocolate and other sweets. Exploring these behavioral changes may give new insights into pathophysiological mechanisms and may even provide treatment strategies for PD, as patients often describe better mobility after consumption of sweets.

Methods: Standardized questionnaires were used to assess and compare consumption of monosaccharides in a cohort of 221 PD patients and 184 healthy controls. Moreover medication, PD disease duration and possibly associated symptoms including impairment of taste and signs of hypoglycaemia were recorded.

Results: PD patients reported a significantly higher intake of chocolate (≥3-4 bars of chocolate per week in 14.0% of PD patients vs. 5.4% of controls; p=0.005) and of other sweets with a high proportion of monosaccharides (daily consumption in 68.8% of PD patients vs. 54.9% of controls; p=0.005). Comparison of male and female PD patients showed significantly higher daily sweet consumption in male PD patients (male = 75.6% vs. female= 58.9%; p = 0.012), whereas female PD patients reported more often feelings of regret after intake (male = 6.9% vs. female = 17.8%; p = 0.017). No group differences were seen for symptoms of hypoglycaemia or impairment of taste. High intake of monosaccharides was associated with significantly longer disease duration (no daily consumption: 3 years; 0-16 vs. daily consumption: 5 years; 0-20; p = 0.006).

Conclusions: PD patients have a higher intake of monosaccharides compared to controls. Higher consumption in male PD patients may be due to more prominent feelings of regret and consecutive restraint in female patients. Most interestingly, higher intake of monosaccharides was associated with longer PD disease duration. Efforts should be made to explore in a second step pathophysiological mechanisms behind these behavioral changes.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/increased-monosaccharide-intake-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/