Objective: To identify clinical predictors associated with progression of cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a common non-motor manifestation of Parkinson’s disease and may progress from mild cognitive impairment to Parkinson’s disease dementia. Early identification of patients at high risk of cognitive decline is essential for disease management and development of targeted interventions.

Method: A longitudinal observational cohort included 336 patients with Parkinson’s disease without dementia (mean age 66.4±8.2 years, disease duration 7.4±5.5 years). Neurological status and non-motor symptoms were evaluated using standardized clinical and neuropsychological assessments. Motor severity, gait disturbances, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and daytime sleepiness were systematically evaluated. Global cognitive status was assessed annually using validated cognitive screening methods. Patients were followed for six consecutive years to evaluate progression of cognitive impairment.

Results: During follow-up, approximately 12% of patients with mild cognitive impairment progressed to dementia annually. Multivariate analysis identified several independent predictors of cognitive decline: older age at disease onset (p<0.001), presence of freezing of gait (p<0.001), greater motor symptom severity (p<0.001), depressive symptoms (p<0.005), anxiety (p<0.005), daytime sleepiness (p<0.005), and lower baseline cognitive performance (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease is strongly associated with both motor severity and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Identification of high-risk patients using clinical and cognitive markers may enable earlier intervention and improved stratification in clinical trials targeting cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease.

« Back to 2026 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-predictors-of-cognitive-decline-in-parkinsons-disease-a-longitudinal-cohort-study/