Data_Sheet_1_Age and gender differences in non-motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease.pdf

BackgroundNon-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are highly prevalent and heterogenic. Previous studies aimed to gain more insight on this heterogeneity by investigating age and gender differences in non-motor symptom severity, but findings were inconsistent. Furthermore, besides examining the single effects of age and gender, the interaction between them in relation to non-motor functioning has -as far as we know- not been investigated before.
ObjectivesTo investigate the association of age and gender identity -as well as the interaction between age and gender identity- with non-motor symptoms and their impact on quality of life.
MethodsWe combined three large and independent studies. This approach resulted in a total number of unique participants of 1,509. We used linear regression models to assess the association of age and gender identity, and their interaction, with non-motor symptoms and their impact on quality of life.
ResultsOlder people with PD generally had worse cognitive functioning, worse autonomic functioning and worse quality of life. Women with PD generally experienced more anxiety, worse autonomic functioning and worse quality of life compared to men with PD, whereas men with PD generally had worse cognitive functioning. In interaction analyses by age and gender identity, depressive symptoms and anxiety were disproportionally worse with increasing age in women compared to men.
ConclusionOur findings indicate that both age and gender -as well as their interaction- are differentially associated with non-motor symptoms of PD. Both research and clinical practice should pay more attention to demographic subgroups differences and possible different treatment approaches with respect to age and gender. We showed how combining datasets is of added value in this kind of analyses and encourage others to use similar approaches.

背景：帕金森病（Parkinson’s disease, PD）的非运动症状患病率极高且异质性显著。既往研究虽通过探究非运动症状严重程度的年龄与性别差异以深入解析该异质性，但所得结论并不一致。此外，除单独考察年龄与性别的独立效应外，据我们所知，二者在非运动功能层面的交互作用此前尚未有相关研究开展。
研究目的：探究年龄与性别认同（gender identity），以及二者间的交互作用与非运动症状的关联，及其对患者生活质量的影响。
研究方法：本研究整合了三项大规模独立研究，最终纳入1509名独立参与者。我们采用线性回归模型（linear regression models），评估年龄、性别认同及其交互作用与非运动症状，以及非运动症状对患者生活质量影响的关联。
研究结果：帕金森病老年患者通常表现出更差的认知功能、自主神经功能及更低的生活质量。与男性PD患者相比，女性PD患者往往存在更严重的焦虑症状、更差的自主神经功能及更低的生活质量；而男性PD患者的认知功能则普遍更差。在年龄与性别认同的交互分析中，相较于男性患者，女性患者的抑郁症状与焦虑程度随年龄增长呈现出不成比例的恶化趋势。
研究结论：本研究结果表明，年龄、性别，以及二者的交互作用，均与PD的非运动症状存在差异化关联。因此，相关研究与临床实践均应更加关注人口学亚组间的差异，并针对年龄与性别因素采取差异化的诊疗方案。本研究证实了整合多数据集在这类分析中的附加价值，并鼓励其他研究者采用类似研究方法。