Association of Cognitive Behavior and Non-Motor Manifestations in Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Parkinson’s disease is now recognized as a multisystem disorder that includes non-motor symptoms in addition to the traditional motor hallmarks of resting tremor, stiffness, bradykinesia, and postural instability. Objective: To determine the association between cognitive behavior and non-motor manifestations in Parkinson’s disease. Methodology: In this observational study, data were collected from different hospitals and physical therapy clinics in Lahore. The study was completed within sx months after the approval of the synopsis. A sample size of 100 is calculated with a 95% confidence interval by using Epitool. Convenient sampling was used to recruit individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, having non-motor symptoms or manifestations, age range of 50 to 70 years, individuals with cognitive impairments, psychiatric symptoms, or behavioral changes were included in the study. Individuals with insufficient data or incomplete reporting or having no adequately assessed cognitive behavior or non-motor manifestations were excluded. After obtaining written informed permission, data were collected. The chi-square test was used to find the association of cognitive behavior and nonmotor manifestations of Parkinson’s disease. The mean, standard deviation, range, and histogram were used to present the quantitative data. The categorical variables were presented as frequencies, percentages, cross tabulations, and bar charts. Results: They shows that the mean age of participants is 60.83±5.88 years. The chi-square test showed a significant association between stages of cognitive impairment and non-motor symptoms (p=0.003), indicating that worsening cognition is linked with increased symptom severity. Nearly half of the participants had mild impairment, while 22% and 13% showed moderate and severe impairment, respectively. Psychiatric symptoms were also prominent, with more than half reporting moderate to severe depression, anxiety, hallucinations, and panic attacks. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the strong and multifaceted association between cognitive behavior and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Cognitive impairment, ranging from mild deficits to dementia, is closely linked to the presence and severity of other non-motor features, like depression, apathy, and sleep disturbances, highlighting the bidirectional relationship between these manifestations.