Some nonmotor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) have been shown to increase the risk of developing dementia. A total of 52 PD patients without dementia at baseline were examined for NMS over 36 months. Mini-Mental State Examination, Dementia Rating Scale-2, and caregiver-derived (Clinical Dementia Rating) scores were employed to rate patients as having either clear progression or not. Some 20 of 48 participants (41.7%) had clear cognitive decline. Univariate binary regression analysis was statistically significant for age (odds ratio [OR] (CI 95%)=1.24, 1.07-1.45, p=0.006) and orthostatic hypotension (OH) (OR (CI 95%)=4.91, 1.24-19.5, p=0.024). Multivariate analysis showed that only age (OR (CI 95%)=1.19, 1.0-1.41, p=0.05) and OH (OR (CI 95%)=5.57, 1.0-30.97, p=0.05) were correlated with an increased risk of cognitive decline. The presence of OH at baseline may be a significant predictor of progression to dementia in PD.
Keywords: Cognitive decline; Dementia; Nonmotor symptoms; Orthostatic hypotension; Parkinson’s disease; Prospective.