Cheng-Jie Mao, Ju-Ping Chen, Xiao-Yi Zhang, Jie Li, Kang-Ping Xiong, Yi Chen, Si-Jiao Li, Wei-Dong Hu, Li-Fang Hu and Chun-Feng Liu
Sensory disorders including pain and other non-motor symptoms occur frequently in patients with Parkinson’s
disease (PD). Studies on the correlation between pain and non-motor symptoms such as depression and sleep
disorders are relatively more, so further investigations of the correlation between pain and other non-motor
symptoms of PD are needed. A total of 142 patients with PD with or without pain were included in the study. PD
severity was evaluated using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Hoehn and Yahr (H/Y)
stage scale. Pain severity was analyzed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI).
The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD; 24 items), Montreal Cognitive Assessment Beijing Version
(MoCA), and non-motor questionnaire NMSQT) measured symptoms of depression, cognitive function, and nonmotor
symptoms. The incidence of pain was 47.9% in patients with PD, most of whom had moderate pain levels.
Patients with pain showed higher HRSD, UPDRS, H/Y, and NMSQT scores and lower MoCA scores compared to
patients without pain. HRSD and NMSQT scores were closely related with pain (p<0.001). The incidence of pain is
higher in patients with PD in pain than in those without pain. Musculoskeletal pain was commonly seen in patients
with PD. Compared to controls and patients with PD without pain, non-motor symptoms were more prominent in
patients with pain.
