Factors associated with self- perceived speech impairment in de novo Parkinson’s disease: a retrospective study of an international database

Introduction People with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) may experience speech changes early in the disease process, yet it is unclear how they perceive them. Moreover, in de novo PD specifically, the relationship between speech, cognition, and swallowing is not well-established. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between self-perceived speech impairment, clinician-perceived speech impairment, cognitive impairment, and swallowing impairment in de novo PD. Methods Data were obtained from the Parkinson’s Progressive Markers Initiative. We included baseline visit data from 1072 de novo PwPD. An ordinal logistic regression was performed to determine what clinical measures were associated with self-perceived speech impairment. Results The ordinal logistic regression found that self-perceived speech impairments were significantly associated with clinician-perceived speech impairment (Wald χ 2 [3] = 44.039, p < 0.001), self-reported swallowing impairment (Wald χ 2 [3] = 61.863, p < 0.001), cognitive impairment (Wald χ 2 [4] = 32.293, p < 0.001), and being male (Wald χ 2 [1] = 11.520, p < 0.001). Conclusion This preliminary work showed potential relationships between self-perceived and clinician-perceived speech impairment, swallowing impairment, and cognitive impairment, demonstrating the multidimensional nature of self-perceived speech impairment. More research using more extensive assessment methods is needed to further elucidate these relationships in de novo PD.