Cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of Parkinson’s disease

Background: Cognitive impairment (CI) is frequent in Parkinson’s disease (PD). CI patients have particular features. These are preliminary data of a cohort study of Moldovan patients with incident Parkinson’s disease. Material and methods: 65 out of 111 consecutive PD patients (mean age 64.87 ± 7.69 y.o.; disease duration 50.21 ± 38.61 mo.; 48 women (43.2%), 63 men (56.8%)) underwent Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Cognitive status graded as: (1) normal and (2) impaired cognition. Results: There were similar: ages (65.79 ± 7.13 vs 62.17 ± 12.21 y.o.), onset ages (61.44 ± 7.61 vs 57.00 ± 12.95 years), disease duration (49.63 ± 36.78 vs 66.00 ± 26.48) months), levodopa (574.58 ± 129 vs 249.55) and agonists doses (5.19 ± 3.02 vs 1.05 ± 0.05) and Beck scores (8.13 ± 6.21 vs 7.4 ± 3.85), in groups. CI was present in 59 (90.8%) patients; more frequent in patients with cardiovascular risk factors (91.7%, p> 0.05), symmetrical Parkinsonism (93.2%, p> 0.05), and in first disease symptom bradykinesia patients (93.8%, p> 0.05). Upper / Lower Asymmetry Index were lower in CI patients, all lower type patients (p> 0.05) having CI. MoCA scores correlated with Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale in ON fase (UPDRSon), (r = -0.320, p <0.022), and red flags number (r = -0.590, p < 0.006). Conclusions: Cognitive impairment is more expectable in akinetic, symmetric and lower type Parkinsonism, also in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, with probable PD, and a more motor impairment.

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Association between physical fitness, cardiovascular risk factors, and Parkinson's disease

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology ◽

10.1177/2047487318771168 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (13) ◽

pp. 1409-1415 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jan Müller ◽

Jonathan Myers

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Physical Fitness ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽

Exercise Testing ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Current Smoking

Objective Exercise is a cornerstone of therapy for Parkinson's disease. This study addressed the association between physical fitness and the onset of Parkinson's disease and association with cardiovascular risk factors. Patients and methods Male veterans ( N = 7347, 59.0 ± 11.2 years) from the Veterans Exercise Testing Study cohort were evaluated. Physical fitness was measured objectively by maximal exercise testing. Onset of Parkinson's disease was abstracted from the Veterans Affairs computerized patient records system. Results After a mean follow-up of 12.5 ± 6.3 years, a total of 94 (1.3%) developed Parkinson's disease. Incidence was 86 cases per 100,000 person-years. The strongest multivariate factors associated with incidence of Parkinson's disease were higher age (hazard ratio: 1.067, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.043–1.093, p < .001), current smoking (hazard ratio: 0.511, 95% CI: 0.274–0.953, p = .035) and physical fitness (high vs. low: hazard ratio: 0.239, 95% CI: 0.079–0.725, p = .011). Compared with patients with no or only one of these risk factors, patients with two risk factors had a 3.7-fold ( p < .001) increased risk for incidence of Parkinson's disease; those with all three risk factors had a 7.8-fold ( p < .001) higher risk. Conclusions High physical fitness, current smoking and younger age were associated with a lower incidence of Parkinson's disease. These findings parallel those of several epidemiological studies focusing on physical activity and the onset of Parkinson's disease. Together, these observations provide strong support for recommending physical activity to diminish risk of Parkinson's disease.

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Statin usage, vascular diagnosis and vascular risk factors in Parkinson’s disease

Scottish Medical Journal ◽

10.1177/0036933017727432 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 62 (3) ◽

pp. 104-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kelvin KW Cheng ◽

Diane MA Swallow ◽

Katherine A Grosset ◽

Donald G Grosset

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Statin Therapy ◽

Cardiac Risk ◽

Vascular Risk Factors ◽

Vascular Risk ◽

Neuroprotective Effects ◽

Statin Use

Background and aims Vascular disease is a common comorbidity in Parkinson’s disease patients. Statins are potentially neuroprotective for Parkinson’s disease through non-vascular mechanisms. We investigated prevailing statin use in a Parkinson’s disease cohort. Methods and results Data on diagnostic indication for statins, anti-Parkinson therapy, vascular risk factors, and statin prescription, were obtained from electronic medical record review for consecutive Parkinson’s disease patients. The ASsessing cardiac risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network system was used to calculate future cardiovascular risk and identify those warranting statin use. Of 441 patients included, 59.9% were male, with a mean age of 68.9 years (standard deviation 10.3). One hundred and seventy-four (39.5%) patients had at least one diagnostic indication for statin use, of whom 136 (78.2%) were prescribed a statin. In the 267 (60.5%) cases without a diagnostic indication, 54 (20.2%) were excluded owing to age limitations defined in ASsessing cardiac risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Of the remaining 213, 62 (29.1%) had an ASsessing cardiac risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network score in the recommended range for statin therapy, of whom 15 (24.1%) were prescribed statins. Conclusion There is suboptimal implementation of statin therapy in Parkinson’s disease patients. Given the possible neuroprotective effects of statins in Parkinson’s disease in addition to reducing cardiovascular risk, reasons for suboptimal implementation warrant further investigation.

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