Fatigue is a common, disabling non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) that substantially reduces quality of life. The study aimed to examine associations between fatigue and a comprehensive set of motor and non-motor features in PD, to identify which clinical variables are most strongly related to fatigue presence and severity.
This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled 80 patients with PD. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale. Investigators collected demographic information and evaluated both motor and non-motor symptoms using standard clinical scales referenced in the abstract (for example Hoehn & Yahr [H&Y] staging and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part II (UPDRS‑II) for activities of daily living). Measures of mood and behavior included anxiety (HAMA), depression, and apathy. Sleep-related symptoms included sleep disturbances and excessive daytime sleepiness measured by the ESS. Frontal executive function was also assessed.
Regression analyses were used to explore relationships between fatigue severity and candidate predictors (multiple linear regression) and to identify factors independently associated with the categorical presence of fatigue (logistic regression).
Compared with patients who were not fatigued, those classified as fatigued had:
These between-group differences indicate that fatigued patients carried a heavier burden of both motor disability that impacts daily function and a range of non-motor comorbidities.
When continuous fatigue severity was modeled with multiple linear regression, the analysis identified excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS) and anxiety (HAMA) as independent variables significantly associated with greater fatigue severity. Other variables that differed between groups (for example motor measures or depressive symptoms) were not retained as independent predictors in that model according to the abstract.
In logistic regression modeling of factors associated with the categorical presence of fatigue, the study found the following independent associations:
These results highlight a combination of demographic, functional motor, and non-motor correlates tied to whether a patient reports clinically meaningful fatigue.
The study emphasizes that non-motor symptoms—notably excessive daytime sleepiness and anxiety—have a stronger independent association with fatigue severity in PD than motor impairment per se. Nonetheless, motor dysfunction that compromises activities of daily living (higher UPDRS‑II) and female sex were also independently linked to fatigue presence.
From a clinical perspective, the findings support systematic assessment of sleepiness and anxiety in PD patients who report fatigue. The authors suggest that targeting treatable non-motor comorbidities could be a promising approach to reduce fatigue burden, but they explicitly call for prospective interventional studies to test whether management of these conditions improves fatigue outcomes.
The study complied with ethical standards: approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Wuxi People’s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (No. KY21133) and informed consent was obtained from participants. The authors declared no relevant competing interests.
As reported in the abstract, the study used a cross-sectional design and enrolled 80 patients. Because the abstract provides summary results only, detailed numeric effect sizes, confidence intervals, and other statistical parameters are not reported here. The cross-sectional nature limits causal inference; the authors recommend prospective interventional studies to verify whether treating excessive daytime sleepiness, anxiety, or other non-motor comorbidities reduces PD-related fatigue.
Keywords reported in the source: Fatigue; Fatigue Severity Scale; Non-motor symptoms; Parkinson’s disease.
(For full reference list and detailed statistical results, consult the original Neurol Sci publication cited by the PMID 42773252 and DOI 10.1007/s10072-026-09416-3.)