Abstract
Limited evidence exists regarding the meaningfulness of symptoms experienced in early Parkinson's disease (PD).
To identify the most bothersome symptoms experienced by people with early PD, leveraging data from the Parkinson's Disease Patient Report of Problems (PD-PROP) questionnaire within the Fox Insight Study.
Individuals with a self-reported diagnosis of PD completed the PD-PROP questionnaire, reporting up to five most bothersome symptoms. Symptom types and frequencies were derived through a combination of human expertise and machine learning.
Participants (N = 8536) 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%) and gait issues (36.7%). Top most bothersome non-motor symptoms were pain/discomfort (33.1%) and physical fatigue (27.5%).
This study underscores the complexity of early PD symptomatology. Future consideration of diverse patient experiences is needed to improve therapeutic and outcome measurement strategies.