Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate intelligibility and comprehensibility (intelligibility in context) and its relationship with MDS-UPDRS (sub)scores in Slovak population of patients with Parkinson´s disease (PD).

Background: Communication disorders in patients with PD are common, often beginning with decrease in vocal loudness and at times progressing to more severe function limitation characterized by changes in speaking rate, articulatory precision, and speech intelligibility. Surveys estimates 69,6% of patients with PD present with intelligibility problems.

Methods: Non-demented patients with idiopathic PD diagnosed according to UK Brain Bank criteria were recruited. All patients were examined in their best “ON” medication state and motor part of MDS-UPDRS (part III) was rated by a movement disorder specialist. For further analyses we divided MDS-UPDRS into standard subscores: rigidity (items 3.3a – 3.3e), tremor (items 3.15.-3.18), bradykinesia (items 3.4a – 3.8b and 3.14) and axial (3.9 – 3.13). To assess the intelligibility and comprehensibility we used computerized Slovak version of Test for People with Dysarthria (T-ZROD; Mičianová et al., 2015) with separate assessment for words and sentences (words, range 0-100 points; sentences, range 0-40 points; lower scores mean worse performance).

Results: Fifty-one PD patients (34 men) with the mean age 62.5±9.9 years; duration of disease 6.1±4.6 years, H&Y stage 2.0±0.5 and total MDS-UPDRS part III 32.5±10.8 were included. There was a significant association between total motor MDS-UPDRS and sentence comprehensibility (rs=-0.315, p=0.012) but not with word intelligibility (rs=-0.001, p=0.497). Impaired sentence comprehensibility was associated with bradykinesia subscore (rs=-0.319, p=0.011) and axial subscore including speech item (rs=0.333, p=0.008, correlation was significant at the level 0.01). Speech item of MDS-UPDRS significantly correlated with the performance at word level (rs=-0.324, p=0.010) as well as at sentence level (rs=-0.392, p=0.002).

Conclusions: Deficits of speech comprehensibility at sentence level in PD patients were associated with worse limb bradykinesia which might suggest shared pathophysiological background. Based on our results and clinical experience, the newly developed T-ZROD can serve as a valid tool for the evaluation of intelligibility and comprehensibility in parkinsonian population. This study was supported by grant APVV-15-0155 provided by Slovak Research and Development Agency.

References: Miller N, Allcock L, Jones D, Noble E, Hildreth AJ, Burn DJ. Prevalence and pattern of perceived intelligibility changes in Parkinson’s disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007 Nov;78(11):1188-90.

« Back to 2018 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/speech-intelligibility-and-comprehensibility-in-slovak-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/