Blood Pressure Abnormality and the Clinical Profile of Parkinson’s Disease as Assessed in the COMPASS-31 Questionnaire

Background: Cardiovascular dysfunction is one of the most frequently found non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease. Blood pressure abnormalities had been known to affect the severity of clinical symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease. Objective: To evaluate the association between blood pressure abnormality and clinical profile of Parkinson’s Disease as assessed in the COMPASS-31 Questionnaire. Method: Thirty four subjects were consecutively recruited from the outpatient clinic at the Department of Neurology, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Indonesia. All subjects met the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Criteria for Parkinson’s Disease. Clinical details was collected for all subjects. The COMPASS-31 questionnaire’s orthostatic hypotension domain was administered to all subject during their “on” condition. Assessment of motor dysfunction severity was evaluated using the MDS-UPDRS III. Result: The study included 34 subjects (21 men and 13 women) with an average age of 58.5 ± 13.9 years. Hypertension was found in 18 subjects (52,9%). Median disease duration was 4,5 years (1-20 years). Men had a higher total UPDRS-III scores on therapy (mean ± SD: 19.95 ± 11.9). The Orthostatic Hypotension domain scores in the COMPASS-31 Questionnaire were found to be significantly influenced by age (P 0.021, r=0.394) and number of antihypertensive drugs taken (P 0.021, r=0.391). Furthermore, hypertension in subjects was significantly associated with Hoehn and Yahr scales (P 0.013, r=0.424) and total UPDRS-III scores (P 0.036, r=0.361). Conclusion: The study showed strong correlation between age, number of antihypertensive drugs and orthostatic hypotension as evaluated in the COMPASS-31 questionnaire. Hypertension were also found to be associated with motor dysfunction severity in Parkinson’s Disease.