Objective: Assess the prevalence and impact of vitamin deficiencies in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and how nutritional intake correlates with serum levels.

Background: Previous research has examined vitamin levels and PD risk, but there is minimal research examining how dietary intake correlates with serum vitamin levels or how vitamin deficiencies impact objective measures of cognition, motor impairment, and levodopa requirements.

Method: 118 patients from our PD clinic underwent serum testing for thiamine (B1), pyridoxine (B6), cobalamin (B12) and 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol (D3). Subjects completed a food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary B1, B6, B12 and D intake. We identified patients with vitamin deficiencies and compared characteristics to those without vitamin deficiencies, including age, disease duration, United Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD), and reported falls. Groups were compared using a nonparametric Wilcoxon two-sample test, and nonparametric Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated.

Results: The prevalence of deficiencies for serum vitamin B1 was 6.7%, B6 was 26.9%, B12 was 3.9%, and vitamin D was 19.7%. 24.8% had inadequate vitamin B1 intake, 20.4% had inadequate B6 intake, 4.1% had inadequate B12 intake, and 61.2% had inadequate vitamin D intake. Positive correlations were found between serum levels and vitamin intakes for vitamin B1 (r=0.32, p=0.035), vitamin B6 (r=0.41, p=0.011), vitamin B12 (r=0.27, p=0.086) and vitamin D (r=0.42, p=0.008). Average UPDRS was 35 with 7 years disease duration for both groups. LEDD for deficient patients was higher (712 mg) than the normal group (594 mg), though not statistically significant (p=0.11). There was a trend for older age in the deficient group (73 vs 69.5 years; p=0.093). Both groups had similar MMSE scores (28.3 vs 28.7) and report of falls (54.5% vs 52%). There were no correlations between vitamin levels and disease duration, UPDRS, MMSE, or LEDD.

Conclusion: The prevalence of vitamin deficiencies in PD patients supports the need for routine screening. Evaluating dietary intakes and relationships with serum vitamins can lead to targeted nutritional interventions to improve PD symptoms and overall quality of life.

References: [1] Christine, C. W., Auinger, P., Joslin, A., Yelpaala, Y., & Green, R. (2018). Vitamin B12 and Homocysteine Levels Predict Different Outcomes in Early Parkinsons Disease. Movement Disorders, 33(5), 762–770. doi: 10.1002/mds.27301 [2] Lau, L. D., Koudstaal, P. J., Witteman, J. C., Hofman, A., & Breteler, M. M. (2006). Dietary folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 and the risk of Parkinson disease. Neurology, 67(2), 315–318. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000225050.57553.6d [3] Shen, L. (2015). Associations between B Vitamins and Parkinson’s Disease. Nutrients, 7(9), 7197–7208. doi: 10.3390/nu7095333

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/vitamin-deficiencies-in-parkinsons-disease-a-case-for-routine-screening/