Changes in Body Composition Before and After Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis

What is it about?

This study examined how body composition changes in the course of Parkinson’s disease (PD) using objective and repeated measures of body composition in an elderly community-dwelling population. We found that the body weight of PD cases began to decrease a few years before diagnosis, which persisted into the years after diagnosis. By year 9 after PD diagnosis, the cumulative loss was on average about 5.7 kg. We further found that, on average, 96% of the loss was from loss of fat mass, whereas the lean mass in PD cases was well preserved.

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Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Weight loss is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, little is known when it starts, how it changes as PD progresses, and whether there is a differential loss of lean or fat mass. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal analysis of changes in body composition using repeated measures by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We found a substantial and persistent weight loss in PD patients, predominantly of fat mass, starting a few years before PD diagnosis.

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