Objective: This study aims to describe the cognitive profile in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a common non-motor symptom of PD. Cohort studies demonstrated that about 50% of PD patients would develop dementia after ten years, and >80% would develop dementia after 20 years. Cognitive impairment significantly decreases the quality of life of PD patients.

Method: A total of 38 PD patients (based on United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Bank criteria) at the outpatient clinic of Mohammad Hoesin General Hospital, Palembang, Indonesia, between September 2019 and January 2020 recruited for this study. The severity of the disease examined using the Hoehn and Yahr stage, and the cognitive function was measured using the Indonesian version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-Ina). Data were analyzed with SPSS version 22 for windows.

Results: The average age of subjects was 59.9±10.9 years. The majority (55.3%) were diagnosed with PD at the age of ≥60 years. Most subjects (65.8%) were male. A total of 78.9% of subjects finished senior high school or higher. The proportion of subjects in the early stages (stage <3) and the advanced stages of disease (stage ≥3) is approximately the same, 52.6% and 47.4% respectively. Cognitive impairment (MoCA-Ina score <26) was found in 89.5% of subjects; 42.1% of them are from advanced-stage group while the other 47.4% came from early-stage group. Cognitive decline was seen in all domains assessed in MoCA-Ina but visuospatial/executive function (averaged 2.9±1.5 out of a maximum of 5 points) and delayed recall (averaged 1.2±1.6 out of a maximum 4 points) experienced the most significant decrease.

Conclusion: Cognitive impairment is found in the majority of PD patients regardless of the severity of the disease. Most impaired domains are visuospatial/executive function and memory.

References: 1. Chen L, Wang X. Cognitive Function in Early and Advanced Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychiatry (London) (2018) 8(2): 513-518 2. Goldman JG, et al. Cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease: a report from a multidisciplinary symposium on unmet needs and future directions to maintain cognitive health. Parkinson’s disease (2018) 19: 1-11

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