Cognitive changes preceding Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective population-based studies

Abstract

Introduction: Various non-motor symptoms have been studied as part of the prodromal phase of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, studies assessing cognitive changes are scarce. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed and SCOPUS to identify prospective, population-based studies that reported on cognitive performance in individuals without PD at baseline, the incidence of PD at follow-up, and comparisons of cognitive performance between participants who developed PD and controls. Results: Twelve studies were identified, including a total of 524,807 participants, of whom 2,939 developed PD. Four studies found differences in global cognition and a meta-analysis showed that individuals who developed PD scored 0.3 points lower than controls on the Mini-Mental State Examination at baseline. Cognitive changes were most frequently observed in tests of executive function, processing-speed and attention, and less frequently in visuospatial/visuoconstructive skills and memory. Due to the heterogeneity of the assessment methods used, it was not possible to conduct further meta-analyses. Conclusions: Cognitive changes may be part of the clinical picture in prodromal PD cohorts derived from the general population. Further population-based studies with large samples and long-term follow-up are needed to better understand their extent and significance. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024547252, identifier: CRD42024547252.