Diurnal drooling in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease

The aim of this study is to explore the prevalence and clinical correlates of diurnal drooling in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

A cross-sectional analysis of 518 Chinese patients with PD was conducted. Each subject was categorized as a diurnal "drooler" or a "non-drooler" using the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS).

One hundred and twenty-one (23.4%) patients exhibited diurnal drooling. Diurnal drooling was reported more frequently in male and late-onset PD patients (p<0.05). The levodopa equivalent daily doses, mean age and disease duration, the percentages of PD family history and levodopa or entacapone use, the incidences of dysarthria, dysphagia and fluctuation, and the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) part III, NMSS, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and PD Questionnaire 39 (PDQ-39) scores in droolers were significantly greater than in non-droolers (p<0.05). The percentage of benzhexol use in non-droolers was significantly higher than in droolers (p<0.05). The Frontal assessment battery (FAB) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores were not different between the droolers and non-droolers. The forward binary logistic regression model indicated that dysarthria, male sex, age, UPDRS part III, sexual dysfunction and a family history of PD were associated with diurnal drooling.

Diurnal drooling is a relatively common debilitating symptom in Chinese PD patients. It is not only related to male sex, age, dysarthria and PD family history, but also correlates with motor and non-motor severity especially sexual dysfunction of PD. However, it is not related to cognition.