Study on the clinical features and related factors of constipation in patients with Parkinson's disease

Objective To investigate the clinical features of constipation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and explore the relationship between constipation and motor symptoms. Methods The data of 221 PD patients were collected. Patients were evaluated with following scales: Rome Ⅲ criteria for diagnosis of functional constipation, unified Parkinson's disease rating scale part Ⅲ (UPDRS Ⅲ), and simple mental status examination scale (MMSE). Results Among 221 PD patients, 132 (59.7%) had constipation, and 48 (36.4%) experienced constipation before motor symptoms. Compared to those without constipation, PD patients with constipation had a higher UPDRS Ⅲ scores, posture/gait scores, and axis scores (P<0.05). The most common symptoms of PD patients with constipation were defecation straining (93.9%). Conclusions PD patients with constipation have severer motor symptoms than those without constipation. Defecation straining is the most common subtypes of PD patients with constipation. Key words: Parkinson disease/CO; Constipation/CO