Objective: To characterize nutrition and food related concerns identified during supportive care visits for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related disorders.

Background: Individuals with PD and related disorders benefit from holistic wellness support. Since December 2023, we have operated a supportive care clinic offering a patient-centered setting where individuals discuss concerns and wellness strategies. Nutrition is a common concern, but we currently lack a standardized framework to capture the multiple factors affecting diet and nutrition. Issues such as constipation, weight change, meal access barriers, and swallowing difficulties are often addressed separately rather than within a unified nutrition construct.

Method: We retrospectively reviewed 200 supportive care encounters conducted between 2023 to January 2026, and identified 51 involving nutrition or food-related questions. These 51 encounters were reviewed in detail, and categorized into four domains: constipation, weight loss, difficulty preparing or accessing meals, and general nutrition inquiry. Swallowing emerged as a fifth domain during chart review. Demographic variables included age, gender, ethnicity, diagnosis, and ZIP code as a proxy for socioeconomic status (SES). Associations between age and nutrition domains were assessed using t-tests and multivariable logistic regression; gender and SES differences using chi-square tests; and swallowing by diagnostic subtype using Fisher’s exact test.

Results: Demographic and statistical findings documented in [table1]. Constipation was associated with older age. Meal access did not differ by SES, suggesting non-financial contributors. Swallowing concerns were more common in atypical parkinsonism, and the low documentation in PD suggests possible under-identification when nutrition is assessed without explicit dysphagia framing.

Conclusion: One-quarter of patients and families reported nutrition-related concerns across five domains. Food and nutrition are central to perceptions of health and often become priorities when illness disrupts daily routines. Our findings support the development of a targeted questionnaire to systematically assess nutrition and dysphagia within supportive care models, with the goal of improving early identification of modifiable risk factors.

Cohort Characteristics and Key Findings

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/nutrition-and-dietary-assessment-as-a-wellness-factor-in-parkinsons-disease-and-related-disorders/