Author(s): Carlos Henrique Ferreira Camargo, Henrique Alvaro Hoffmann, JissaJeanete Luciano, Marcelo Rezende Young Blood, Marcelo Derbli Schafranski, Marcelo Machado Ferro and EdmarMyochi
Objective: The aim of this study was to identify possible clinical variables associated with orthostatic hypotension (OH) in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Methods: The study was an analytical observational case-control one.Twenty patients were selected and divided into two groups: patients with Parkinson’s disease and OH, and patients with Parkinson’s disease without OH. The groups were compared in terms of parameters such as age, age of onset of symptoms, duration of levodopa use, duration of the disease before levodopa was started, comorbidities and other medications being used. A two- tailed chi-square test with Yates’ correction was used for categorical variables, and the Student’s t-test for continuous variables. Results: There was a statistically significant association between the development of OH and both greater age and late onset of Parkinson’s disease. Patients in the group with OH were older on average (76.11 ± 9.41 vs 65.9 ± 11.03; p = 0.04 and Cohen’s d = 0.99) and had later disease onset (71.44 ± 8.07 vs 60.9 ± 12.87; p = 0.04 and Cohen’s d = 0.98). The correlations between the other clinical and therapeutic characteristics and OH was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our findings show that OH is more likely to affect older patients and those with later onset of Parkinson’s disease.
