Objective: To measure the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease non-motor symptoms (PD NMS Quest, spanish version) among three different types of factory workers: tire factory, chemical products factory and food factory (control subjects).

Background: Non motor symptoms can be present at any PD stage, but some of them have been identified as potential clinical biomarkers for preclinical diagnosis many years before the motor phase of PD such as RBD, hyposmia, constipation, depression and apathy. Common risk factors linked to PD are tobacco, caffeine, physical activity, pesticides, consumption of dairy products and calcium channel blockers. We aim to study population at risk of work-related toxical exposure as an intempt to identify high-risk population for PD

Method: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out with Factory workers of three different industrial settings (tire, chemical and food manufacturing) in San Luis Potosí, from 25 to 50 years old. A simplified non motor symptoms questionnaire was applied also with demographic data including known risk factors for PD. Prevalence of premotor symptoms were stablished at this point.

Results: A total of 316 subjects were included: 102 tire factory workers, 97 chemical factory and 117 food manufacturing company. 67% male, mean age 36 years old. The prevalence of NMS where 54% for tire factory workers, 59% for chemical factory workers and 32% for food manufacturing company. The most common NMS was loss of taste or smell (67%, 82% and 13%), constipation (43%, 47% and 36%), loss of interest or memory problems (36%, 38% and 12%) and attention difficulties (34%, 37% and 11%).

Conclusion: This small study explores the prevalence of PD-NMS in healthy workers exposed to toxic environments, for instance, the transformation industry. Taking into account that environmental factors have been linked to higher risk for PD, our study demonstrates a higher NMS prevalence among tire and chemical factories than the general population.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/frequency-of-pd-non-motor-symptoms-in-healthy-factory-workers/