Sex differences in the diagnosis latency of Parkinson's disease in Latin America

Age and sex are known risk factors for Parkinson's Disease (PD), but it remains controversial if there are sex differences in the diagnosis latency. The objective of this study was to examine these sex differences in Latin America.

The Latin American Research Consortium on the Genetics of PD (LARGE-PD) includes PD patients from countries across Latin America who were diagnosed using the UK Brain Bank criteria. Ages at onset (AAO; N = 2,792), diagnosis (AAD; N = 1,416), and calculated diagnosis latency (N = 1,416) were extracted from the LARGE-PD database and compared for both males and females overall, by country, and decade-long age ranges. A cohort was created based on available data for motor sign at onset (N = 492). Regressions examining diagnosis latency as a factor of sex, country, and motor subtype were performed. Two-tailed t-tests at 95 % confidence intervals were used to identify differences in mean AAOs, AADs, and diagnosis latencies between the sexes.

Across the LARGE-PD cohort, lower AAD was observed in males. Per country, AAO was lower for males in Mexico and diagnosis latency was shorter for males in Chile. Overall, younger females (≤39) and older males (≥70) are likely to experience longer latencies.

Our results suggest that there may be country and age dependent sex differences in AAO, AAD, and diagnosis latency of PD in Latin America. Interestingly, the mean AAO of LARGE-PD is approximately 6 years younger than studies done with European populations. Analyses with additional data are needed to determine the influence of other factors.