Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and identify the clinical, psychosocial, and nutritional factors associated with it.

Background: Malnutrition affects up to 60% of patients with PD during the disease course, resulting from an imbalance between the nutritional requirements and intake, which may lead to complications with a significant impact on health.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 37 patients with PD. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric measurements, physical examination, laboratory tests, and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scale. Non-motor symptoms were evaluated using scales for the detection dysphagia, sialorrhea, functional chronic constipation, olfactory impairment, depression, anxiety, apathy, compulsive and impulsive behaviors, and cognitive functions. The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS I-IV) was implemented. Disease severity was determined using the Hoehn & Yahr scale, and the quality of life with the PDQ-39 questionnaire. Associations were analyzed using correlation and variance tests.

Results: Of the 37 patients, 62.2% (n=23) were men, with a mean age of 64.90 ± 9.18 years and a mean time since symptom onset of 7.19 ± 5.90 years. According to BMI, 49.5% were overweight, 27% had normal weight, 24.3% were obese, and 2.7% were underweight.

Regarding MNA, 37.8% were at risk of malnutrition, which was significantly associated with diabetes, former smoking, depression, dysphagia, dyskinesias, and lower scores on the Schwab & England scale. Patients who reported thinking “they consistently take too much medication” showed a higher risk of malnutrition (p<0.012).

UPDRS II scores showed a significant positive correlation with malnutrition risk (rho=0.338, p=0.041); weak positive correlations were observed for UPDRS I (rho=0.302) and UPDRS IV (rho=0.272).

Patients at risk of malnutrition had longer mean disease duration than those with normal nutritional status (9.57 ± 7.94 vs. 5.74 ± 3.73 years; p = 0.054). No other significant associations were observed.

Conclusion: We observed that malnutrition in patients with Parkinson’s disease was associated with disease progression and several non-motor factors. A subgroup of overweight patients was identified, potentially linked to proinflammatory states. These findings highlight the importance of routine nutritional status assessment in this population to enable early intervention.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/nutritional-status-assessment-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/