Fox Insight: Most Bothersome Symptoms in Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding the meaningfulness of symptoms experienced in early Parkinson's disease (PD). Objectives: To identify the most bothersome symptoms experienced by people with early PD, leveraging data from the Parkinson's Disease Patient Report of Problems (PD-PROP) questionnaire within the Fox Insight Study. Methods: Individuals with a self-reported diagnosis of PD completed the PD-PROP questionnaire, reporting up to five most bothersome symptoms. Symptom types and frequencies were derived through a combination of human expertise and machine learning. Results: Participants (N = 8536) were 0.9 years since diagnosis, predominantly white (96%), male (53.3%), and with an average age of 64.6 years. Top most bothersome motor symptoms were tremor (55.9%) and gait issues (36.7%). Top most bothersome non-motor symptoms were pain/discomfort (33.1%) and physical fatigue (27.5%). Conclusions: This study underscores the complexity of early PD symptomatology. Future consideration of diverse patient experiences is needed to improve therapeutic and outcome measurement strategies.