Gender differences in olfactory dysfunctions in Sardinian patients affected by Parkinson’s disease

Introduction: In the last years, several studies have identified the presence of gender-related differences in the burden of non-motor symptoms in patients affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD) [1-2]. In this context, the role of specific gender-related patterns in olfactory dysfunctions of PD patients has not been clearly investigated. Objective: To investigated the presence of specific gender-related patterns in olfactory dysfunctions among Sardinian PD patients, compared with age and sex-matched healthy controls. Methods: Fifty-nine male and thirty-two female PD patients with a similar overall age and disease characteristics were recruited. Olfactory function was evaluated with the odor detection threshold, the discrimination, the identification tests of the Sniffin’ Sticks (a psychophysical tool developed by Hummel in 1997 and widely validated) and their sum (TDI score). Cognition was evaluated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Modified Hoehn and Yahr scale and UPDRS were used to assess motor symptoms. Forty-nine healthy controls matched for age were also enrolled. Results: Male PD patients showed a significant greater impairment compared to female PD patients in odor identification (7.4 ± 3.6 vs 9.1 ± 2,7; P ≤ 0.01) and TDI score (17.4 ± 7.7 vs 21.5 ± 6.0;P ≤ 0.01), while a non significant reduction in male PD patients was noted also in the odor detection threshold and the discrimination. MOCA mean values among male and female PD were similar (21.4± 5.2 vs 21.4 ± 5.9;P not significant). No gender differences were identified in male and female healthy controls in any olfactory characteristic of the Sniffin’ Sticks. Conclusions: We identified a specific gender difference in olfactory dysfunctions in PD patients, with a more severe impairment in male PD patients with abnormal odor identification and decreased TDI score. These findings highlighted the possible role of gender differences in the development of associated PD non motor symptoms. References [1] Solla et al. J Neurol Sci. 2012 Dec 15;323(1-2):33-9 [2] Picillo et al. J Neurol. 2013 Nov;260(11):2849-5