People with Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism, a related movement disorder, had more weight loss following their diagnosis compared to controls. And rapid weight loss was associated with an increased risk of becoming dependent on caregivers, of developing dementia, and dying, according to a study published online in Neurology on October 27.
A Common Side Effect
Weight loss is a known side effect of Parkinson's disease (PD) partly because people with the disease may eat less and expend more energy when moving. But those reasons don't fully explain the association, researchers say. Previous research has also hinted that weight loss may be associated with worse outcomes.
Looking for Tips in the Scale
To investigate the weight loss link in a larger cohort of patients over a longer period of time, researchers at the Institute of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland analyzed data on 515 people who participated in the Parkinsonism Incidence in North-East Scotland (PINE) study, a long-term study of people with PD and parkinsonism as well as a control group matched by sex and age. Of these participants, 187 had Parkinson's disease, 88 had parkinsonism, and 240 served as controls.
The researchers analyzed both the volume and timing of participants' weight loss during the study. They defined "significant" weight loss as a loss of more than 5 percent body mass, and early weight loss as loss that occurred within the first year of diagnosis. Then they used the participants' health records to see who developed dementia, who became dependent on their caregivers, or who died during the study's follow-up period. They compared the participants' timing and magnitude of weight loss with their outcomes to see if there was an association between weight and health.
More Weight Loss Linked to More Health Problems
People with PD and Parkinsonism experienced more weight loss early on compared to controls.
And early weight loss was associated with an increased risk of all three adverse outcomes analyzed: becoming dependent, developing dementia, and dying.
Weight loss may be a sign of a worse disease course in Parkinson's, the study authors conclude. They note that "targeted interventions to prevent or reverse weight loss in parkinsonism and PD may improve outcomes." But first, the findings should be replicated in other, large-scale, randomized studies, the authors say.
http://journals.lww.com/neurologynow/blog/breakingnews/pages/post.aspx?PostID=541
No comments:
Post a Comment