Risk Factors for Falls in Patients with de novo Parkinson’s Disease: A Focus on Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify risk factors for falls in patients with de novo Parkinson’s disease (PD). METHODS: Forty-six patients with de novo PD were retrospectively included in the study. We assessed details on the patients’ motor symptoms as well as non-motor symptoms using several representative scales for global cognition, depression, fatigue, and dysautonomia. Fallers and non-fallers were identified according to their history of falls during the preceding year. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients (45.8%) with de novo PD had a history of falls. Compared with the non-faller group, the faller group exhibited higher scores for postural instability/gait difficulty (PIGD), anxiety, fatigue, total dysautonomia, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and thermoregulatory dysfunction. Moreover, logistic regression analysis showed that falling was positively correlated with anxiety and gastrointestinal symptoms but negatively associated with the tremor scores. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that falling in patients with de novo PD is significantly associated with PIGD/non-tremor symptoms, anxiety, and gastrointestinal dysfunction.