Association of Pisa Syndrome With Mortality in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Objectives: In Parkinson's disease, Pisa syndrom (PS) has been associated with disease stage and severity, combined treatment with levodopa and dopamine agonists, gait disorders, and comorbidities. Some forms of PS are potentially reversible; nevertheless, little is known about the impact of this syndrome on survival.

Design: Prospective study with a median follow-up of 2 years.

Setting and participants: Patients with Parkinson's disease, age 65 years and older (N = 189), attending a geriatric day hospital.

Measurements: According to established criteria, PS was diagnosed in the presence of at least 10° lateral flexion of the trunk reducible by passive mobilization or supine positioning. Cox regression was adopted to assess the association of PS with all-cause mortality.

Results: PS was diagnosed in 40 patients (21%); over the follow-up, 21 (11%) subjects died. In Cox regression, PS was associated with higher mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 4.10; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.36-12.38], after adjusting; other variables associated with mortality were age (HR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.08-1.32), beta blockers (HR = 4.35, 95% CI = 1.23-15.39), and albumin levels (HR = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.01-0.33). The association of PS with mortality remained significant also after adjusting for variables associated with this syndrome (HR = 4.04, 95% CI = 1.33-12.25).

Conclusions/implications: PS represents a risk factor for earlier mortality in Parkinson's disease; further studies are needed to ascertain the underlying causes and whether treatment of this condition might improve survival.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease; Pisa syndrome; survival.