Impact of subjective dizziness on motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with early stages of Parkinson's disease

Clinicians sometimes encounter patients with Parkinson's disease complaining of dizziness in real clinical settings. We sought to identify the relationship between self-perceived dizziness and motor or non-motor symptoms, especially in Parkinsonian patients in the early stages. Eight-six patients with less than five years of Parkinson's disease duration were recruited. We used the dizziness handicap inventory to access self-reported dizziness in patients with early Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonian motor symptoms such as postural instability and gait difficulty and non-motor features for global cognitive function, depressive mood, anxiety state, fatigue state, and autonomic dysfunction were measured using representative scales. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that the dizziness handicap inventory score was significantly related to postural instability and gait difficulty, anxiety, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular domain of dysautonomia. In addition, the dizziness handicap inventory score was positively correlated with scores for postural instability and gait difficulty, anxiety, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular dysautonomia. We found that self-reported dizziness was highly linked to postural instability and gait difficulty, anxiety, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular dysfunctions in patients with early Parkinson's disease. Further follow-up studies on the association between dizziness and the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease are needed.