Cognitive and functional decline in the prediagnostic Parkinson’s disease state

In a longitudinal study, both men and women who developed Parkinson’s disease later in life displayed swifter declines in executive function (P<0.001, P=0.006) and functional status (P<0.001, P<0.001) than men and women who did not develop Parkinson’s disease.
There were significant sex differences in rate of decline across all measures (P<0.001).
The authors concluded that cognitive and functional decline begins well before a diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Targeting early cognitive and functional decline could result in better clinical outcomes.