Compliance with National and International Guidelines in the Treatment of Nonmotor Symptoms in Late-Stage Parkinson’s Disease
Table 2
Prevalence and severity of nonmotor symptoms in late-stage PD (n = 105).
NMSS score (median, q1–q3)
≥1 symptom present (n, %)
≥6 symptomatic individuals (n, %)
D1: cardiovascular
1 (0–4)
(1) Lightheadedness
1 (0–4)
54 (51%)
19 (18%)
(2) Fainting
0 (0-0)
21 (20%)
8 (8 %)
D2: sleep/fatigue
9 (4–17)
(3) Daytime sleepiness
2 (0–6)
63 (60%)
29 (28%)
(4) Fatigue
4 (0–8)
69 (66%)
40 (38%)
(5) Difficulty falling asleep
0 (0–3)
31 (30%)
16 (15%)
(6) Restless legs
0 (0–4)
38 (36%)
20 (19%)
D3: mood/apathy
13 (4–27)
(7) Lost interest in surroundings
0 (0–4)
47 (45%)
25 (24%)
(8) Lack motivation
3 (0–6)
63 (60%)
36 (34%)
(9) Feel nervous
0 (0–2)
34 (32%)
17 (16%)
(10) Seem sad
0 (0–4)
53 (50%)
26 (25%)
(11) Flat moods
4 (0–6)
67 (64%)
27 (26%)
(12) Difficulty experiencing pleasure
0 (0–2)
34 (32%)
18 (17%)
D4: perceptual problems/hallucinations
4 (0–10)
(13) Hallucinations
0 (0–4)
49 (47%)
18 (17%)
(14) Delusions
0 (0-1)
27 (26%)
13 (12%)
(15) Double vision
0 (0–3)
36 (34%)
18 (17%)
D5: attention/memory
9 (2–23)
(16) Concentration
2 (0–6)
61 (58%)
36 (34%)
(17) Forget things or events
2 (0–6)
66 (63%)
33 (31%)
(18) Forget to do things
4 (0–12)
69 (66%)
43 (41%)
D6: gastrointestinal
9 (4–16)
(19) Saliva
4 (0–8)
65 (62%)
42 (40%)
(20) Swallowing
0 (0–4)
44 (42%)
25 (24%)
(21) Constipation
2 (0–6)
58 (55%)
35 (33%)
D7: urinary
12 (4–24)
(22) Urgency
4 (0–12)
74 (70%)
50 (47%)
(23) Frequency
0 (0–8)
53 (50%)
35 (33%)
(24) Nocturia
4 (0–12)
71 (68%)
46 (44%)
D8: sexual dysfunction
12 (0–12)
(25) Interest in sex
0 (0–4)
29 (28%)
18 (17%)
(26) Problems having sex
8 (0–12)
60 (57%)
57 (54%)
D9: miscellaneous
12 (4–20)
(27) Pain
1 (0–8)
54 (51%)
33 (31%)
(28) Taste or smell
4 (0–12)
63 (60%)
49 (47%)
(29) Weight change
0 (0–2)
34 (32%)
13 (12%)
(30) Excessive sweating
0 (0–2)
27 (26%)
10 (10%)
NMSS, total score (median, q1–q3)
91 (55–128)
Values are presented as median and first and third quartiles (q1–q3). NMSS, Nonmotor Symptoms Scale (0–360, higher = worse); D, domain (severity × frequency of each item of the domain are added together: 0–12, higher = worse). Each item is scored: severity (0–3, higher = worse) and frequency (1–4, higher = worse).
