(LB03-15-24) Diet Quality and Quality of Life in People With Parkinson's Disease

Objectives: Because of changes in eating physiology and behaviors, people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) are at high risk for malnutrition. We examined diet quality (DQ) and quality of life (QoL) in PwPD in early-stage ( < 8 years) and later-stage (≥8 years) PD diagnosis.

Methods: This is part of a larger cross-sectional study examining a holistic health care approach for PwPD. Demographics were collected using a medical history questionnaire with medications confirmed by a pharmacist. DQ was measured by the Dietary Screening Tool (DST) and QoL was measured by the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire, 39-item (PDQ-39). The DST is a 25-item questionnaire scored on a scale from 0 to 100 with an additional 5 points for multivitamin or mineral supplementation used to measure DQ; higher score equates to higher DQ. The PDQ-39 is a 39-item questionnaire that measures health-related QoL across 8 domains on a scale of 0 to 100; higher scores indicating worse QoL.

Results: The 19 participants (14 males) were primarily non-Hispanic, White (94.7%) with a mean age of 68.5±8.1 years. Average years living with PD was 6.6±5.5. 89.5% were on dopamine replacement medication for PD. Mean DST score was 60.7±9.5 with higher scores in whole fruits (8.2±2.1) and total and whole grains (8.2±2.1) and poorer scores in added fats, sugars, and sweets (14.5±2.5). Mean PDQ-39 score was 31.6±17.9 with higher scores in Mobility (5.9±5.8) and Emotional Well-Being (5.6±4.5). Independent sample t-tests compared total scores and domain scores between PwPD with early-stage (M=3.9, SD=2.1) and late-stage (M=14.4, SD=4.0) PD diagnosis. There were significant outcomes between groups in DST summary score (t(17)=2.9, p= 0.01), Protein (t(17)=2.2, p=0.04), and Vegetables (t(17)=2.3, p=0.04). There were also significant outcomes in Stigma (t(16.1)=-2.7, p=0.02), but not in other PDQ domains.

Conclusions: These results suggest that PwPD in the later-stage have poorer total DQ, protein intake, and vegetable intake compared to earlier-stage and report higher stigma. There is a need for further investigation into the causes behind poorer DQ potentially related to barriers in following through with dietitian referrals.

Funding Sources: This was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH; Advance Clinical and Translational Research.