Festination in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the occurrence and clinical associations of festination in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).


METHODS
A total of 480 PD patients were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Assessments scales included the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) part III, PD Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), frontal assessment battery (FAB), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA).


RESULTS
One hundred and forty PD patients (29.2%) reported festination. Festination occurred more frequently in patients with lower limbs as the site of onset and patients with longer disease duration or higher Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage (P<0.05). The mean age, levodopa and entacapone use, incidences of motor complications, falls and freezing of gait, and the scores for the UPDRS part III, NMSS, HAMD and HAMA were higher in patients with festination than those without festination (P<0.05). There were no differences in the scores for the PDQ-39, MMSE, FAB and MoCA between the patients with and without festination. The binary logistic regression model indicated that UPDRS part III, lower limbs as the site of onset, freezing of gait and falls were associated with festination.


CONCLUSIONS
Festination is a relatively common disabling symptom in Chinese PD patients. Patients with lower limbs as the site of onset and more severe disability were more likely to experience festination. Festination in PD is not related to non-motor symptoms and cognitive dysfunction.
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 782528809@qq.com.
Ruwei
R
Ou
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 2856344642@qq.com.
Xiaoyan
X
Guo
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 578361552@qq.com.
Qianqian
Q
Wei
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 240401986@qq.com.
Bei
B
Cao
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 653299183@qq.com.
Jing
J
Yang
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 36255368@qq.com.
Wei
W
Song
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 975968967@qq.com.
Na
N
Shao
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 33587171@qq.com.
Bi
B
Zhao
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: 441607140@qq.com.
Xueping
X
Chen
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: hfshang2002@126.com.
Huifang
H
Shang
D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
Falls; Festination; Freezing of gait; Gait disorder; Parkinson's disease