The PRIAMO study: A multicenter assessment of nonmotor symptoms and their impact on quality of life in Parkinson's disease

TLDR

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) in Parkinson’s disease, their relationship with cognitive impairment, and their impact on quality of life. A multicenter survey was conducted using a semistructured interview with 1,072 consecutive PD patients over 12 months across 55 Italian centers. NMSs were reported by 98.6% of patients, with fatigue, anxiety, leg pain, insomnia, urgency/nocturia, and drooling being most common; the average patient had 7.8 NMSs, psychiatric symptoms were most frequent, and their prevalence increased with disease duration and severity, while cognitive impairment was associated with more apathy, memory deficits, and psychiatric symptoms, all of which negatively affected QoL, highlighting the need to address NMS in clinical trials. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society.

Abstract

Abstract We performed a multicenter survey using a semistructured interview in 1,072 consecutive patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) enrolled during 12 months in 55 Italian centers to assess the prevalence of nonmotor symptoms (NMSs), their association with cognitive impairment, and the impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). We found that 98.6% of patients with PD reported the presence of NMSs. The most common were as follows: fatigue (58%), anxiety (56%), leg pain (38%), insomnia (37%), urgency and nocturia (35%), drooling of saliva and difficulties in maintaining concentration (31%). The mean number of NMS per patient was 7.8 (range, 0–32). NMS in the psychiatric domain were the most frequent (67%). Frequency of NMS increased along with the disease duration and severity. Patients with cognitive impairment reported more frequently apathy, attention/memory deficit, and psychiatric symptoms. Apathy was the symptom associated with worse PDQ‐39 score but also presence of fatigue, attention/memory, and psychiatric symptoms had a negative impact on QoL. These findings further support a key role for NMS in the clinical frame of PD and the need to address them specifically in clinical trials using dedicated scales. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society