title: Gender and onset age-related features of non-motor symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease--a study from Southwest China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-motor symptom (NMS) differences between male Parkinson's disease (PD) and female PD, and between early-onset PD (EOPD) and late-onset PD (LOPD) in Chinese populations remain largely unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 522 PD patients from Southwest China were included. Patients were assessed using the Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS) and Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  More NMS and significantly higher NMSS score were found in LOPD patients than in EOPD patients (9.3 ± 5.9 vs. 7.7 ± 5.6, P = 0.005; 37.4 ± 32.2 vs. 30.5 ± 28.9, P = 0.018), while no such differences were found between male and female patients. The NMS of gastrointestinal and urinary domains were more common in LOPD patients than in EOPD patients, whereas sexual dysfunction was more common in EOPD than in LOPD. The sleep/fatigue domain, the mood/apathy domain and "pain" symptoms were more prevalent and severe in female patients than in male patients while urinary symptoms were more common and severe in male patients. Significant positive correlations were observed between disease duration, Hoehn & Yahr stage, UPDRS Ⅲ, and NMSS score in the total sample, subgroups of both male and female patients as well as both EOPD and LOPD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NMS are common in the Chinese PD population. LOPD patients are likely to present with more and severe NMS than EOPD patients. Males are subjected to urinary symptoms and females are subjected to mood/apathy, sleep and pain symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, SiChuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xueping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhenzhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Bi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hui-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Shang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012727:Sex Characteristics
keywords: Early-onset Parkinson's disease; Gender; Late-onset Parkinson's disease; Non-motor symptoms; Non-motor symptoms scale; Parkinson's disease