Abstract
Forty-eight men with Parkinson’s disease (PD) were interviewed utilizing a questionnaire which evaluated autonomic function. The study population included PD patients (mean age: 65.8 years, mean duration of PD: 8 years) and 32 elderly healthy nonparkinsonian males (mean age: 70.4 years). We found a significantly higher prevalence of the following symptoms of autonomic dysfunction in the parkinsonian patients: erectile dysfunction (60.4 vs. 37.5%), sensation of incomplete bladder emptying (41.6 vs. 15.6%), urgency (45.8 vs. 3.125%), constipation (43.9 vs. 6.25%), dysphagia (22.9 vs. 6.25%) and orthostatic dizziness (21.95 vs. 0%). Eighty-nine percent of parkinsonian patients had at least one of these autonomic symptoms, compared to 43% of control subjects (p < 0.05). This study is the first comprehensive survey of autonomic symptomatology in PD compared to elderly healthy controls and confirms that autonomic nervous system dysfunction is a pervasive problem in PD. Erectile dysfunction is a significant problem in this patient group and contributes to deterioration in the quality of life.
