Objective: There is limited data on sexual dysfunction as an non-motor symptom (NMS) in Parkinson’s, especially in most developing countries in Asia where the discussion of sex remains a cultural taboo. We hereby analyze the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among the Parkinson’s disease (PD) population in Penang General Hospital, a tertiary hospital in the state of Penang, Malaysia.

Background: Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with both motor and NMS. Hyposmia, constipation and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disorder are some of the well-recognized NMS. The discussion of sexual dysfunction remains a cultural taboo and is usually an avoided topic in most developing countries in Asia. Hence, data on sexual dysfunction among the Parkinson’s population is even more sparse.

Method: All follow-up or newly diagnosed idiopathic PD subjects within a 12-month period in Penang General Hospital were recruited into this cross-sectional, observational study. Epidemiological data were obtained via personal interview during clinic review. The prevalence of NMS was evaluated using the NMS Questionnaire (NMSQuest). Evaluation of sexual dysfunction in NMSQuest includes altered sex drive (Question 18) and sexual difficulty (Question 19).

Results: Our study recruited 100 subjects with a mean age of 70 years. There were 60 males and 40 females. Majority were Chinese (n=78, 78%), followed by Malays (13%), Indians (8%) and others (1%). Mean duration of disease was 7 years with mean H&Y score of 2.7. All PD subjects reported at least 1 NMS per person. The most common NMS was nocturia (78%) and constipation (70%). The prevalence of sexual difficulty in our cohort was 55% (n=55) while altered sex drive was 52% (n=52). There was a significant association between gender and sexual difficulty (p=0.001). There was also a significant association between gender and altered sex drive (p=0.005). However, our study showed no significant association between ethnicity and sexual dysfunction. There was also no significant association between H&Y staging with sexual dysfunction.

Conclusion: Our study showed a high prevalence of sexual dysfunction for both altered sexual drive and sexual difficulty among our cohort. Sexual dysfunction is common among PD patients but remains unrecognized as it is still not widely accepted culturally to openly discuss regarding sexual dysfunction.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/parkinsons-panorama-epidemiology-and-non-motor-symptoms-revisiting-taboo-topic-of-sexual-dysfunction-in-a-malaysian-parkinsons-population/