Non-motor symptoms in prodromal Parkinson's disease are linked to reduced quality of life

Isolated rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) highlights an early α-synucleinopathy. This study compared health-related quality of life (hrQoL) in 62 individuals with iRBD with 19 healthy controls (HC) and 29 individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and identified factors linked to poorer hrQoL.

HrQoL was significantly lower in individuals with iRBD (83.33 ± 16.96) compared to HC (92.29 ± 5.49, p = 0.027). Poorer hrQoL in individuals with iRBD was linked to severity of multiple non-motor symptoms, most prominently fatigue and depressive symptoms being significant predictors (p < 0.001, adjusted R2 = 0.81).

Non-motor symptoms in prodromal Parkinson's disease are linked to reduced quality of life
Fig. HrQoL comparisons of all SF-36 domains as well as the total score. N = 110. Dots express mean values, and colored areas show 95% confidence intervals. HC: Healthy control participants (n = 19); iRBD: iRBD individuals (n = 62); PD: Parkinson's disease individuals (n = 29). SF-36 scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better HrQoL. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. Asterisks indicate significant group differences between HC and iRBD in the post-hoc Mann-Whitney-U tests. All group differences between iRBD and PD were significant (all p < 0.01).

This study highlights the importance of non-motor symptoms for hrQoL in prodromal PD.

Publication:

Röttgen, S., Lindner, M.-S., Seger, A., Kickartz, J., Weiß, K.-L., Doppler, C.E.J., Fink, G. R., Ophey, A., & Sommerauer, M. (2025). Non-motor symptoms in prodromal Parkinson's disease are linked to reduced quality of life. Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 1877718X241310726. doi: 10.1177/1877718X241310726

Correspondence to:

Sinah Röttgen

Letzte Änderung: 18.03.2025