Effect of obstructive sleep apnea risk on sialorrhea in patients with Parkinson's disease

Our aim was to determine the effect of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) risk on sialorrhea in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

A total of 75 patients with PD (mean age 66.36 ± 8.07) were included. Sialorrhoea was evaluated using the "Sialorrhoea Clinical Scale for Parkinson's Disease" and OSAS risk was determined using the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Diurnal and nocturnal sialorrhoea, drooling severity, speech impairment, eating impairment frequency of drooling, and social discomfort were evaluated. Patients were classified as having low, moderate, or high risk of OSAS. One-way analysis of variance, Tukey's multiple comparison test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Bonferroni-Dunn tests, and Fischer's exact test were used to compare groups according to the normality of the data.

Patients were classified as low risk (n = 10), intermediate risk (n = 29) and high risk (n = 36). The clinical characteristics were similar in all risk groups. The highest rate of nocturnal sialorrhea was observed in all risk groups. The lowest-risk group scored 4.30 ± 3.09, whereas the intermediate- and high-risk groups scored 4.21 ± 4.46, 6.94 ± 4.81 respectively for sialorrhea (p = 0.034). A significant difference in sialorrhea between the groups was found in the intermediate and high-risk groups (p = 0.034).

This study showed that sialorrhea changes were significant in patients with PD in the intermediate-and high-risk OSAS groups. It may be suggested that sialorrhoea be assessed and included in the treatment program in patients at high risk of OSAS or that PD patients with high levels of sialorrhoea should be tested for OSAS. Patients may benefit from treatment methods that address both conditions.