Presentations - Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University

Fox Insight: Most bothersome symptoms in early-stage Parkinson's disease

Poster #: 33
Session/Time: B
Author: Aaron Lerner
Mentor: Jamie Adams, MD
Co-Investigator(s): 1. Aaron Lerner, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University 2. Jennifer R. Mammen, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, College of Nursing & Health Sciences 3. Mirinda Tyo, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, College of Nursing & Health Sciences 4. Peggy Auinger, University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurology 5. Raunak Al-Rubayie, University of Rochester Medical Center, Center for Health & Technology (CHeT) 6. Yuge Xiao, The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research 7. Connie Marras, MD, Ph.D., The Edmond J Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease & Morton & Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic 8. Jamie L. Adams, MD, University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurology
Research Type: Clinical Research

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to identify the most bothersome symptoms experienced by people with early Parkinson's disease (PD), leveraging data from the Parkinson's Disease Patient Report of Problems (PD-PROP) questionnaire within the Fox Insight Study.

Methods: Individuals aged >18 years, with and without a self-reported diagnosis of PD were enrolled via the Fox Insight platform and completed an open-ended online survey (PD-PROP), which asks participants to report up to five most bothersome symptoms/impacts of PD. Machine curation, integrating human expertise with advanced natural language processing and machine learning techniques, was used to analyze responses and derive symptom types and frequencies. Only individuals with PD duration less than 2 years were included in the present analysis.

Results: Participants (N=8,536) 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%), followed gait issues (36.7%), impaired dexterity (33.3%), balance problems (27.1%), slowness (23.4%), and stiffness (20.0%). Among non-motor symptoms, pain/discomfort (33.1%), physical fatigue (27.5%), anxiety/worry (22.8%), and negative emotions or cognition (22.4%) were most often cited.

Conclusion: This study underscores the complexity of PD and the diverse symptomatology affecting patients early in the disease course. Future consideration of diverse patient experiences in early PD is needed to improve therapeutic and outcome measurement strategies.