Predictors of COVID-19 outcome in Parkinson's disease

Fasano, Alfonso; Elia, Antonio E.; Dallocchio, Carlo; Canesi, Margherita; Alimonti, Dario; Sorbera, Chiara; Alonso-Canovas, Araceli; Pezzoli, Gianni

INTRODUCTION: Specific pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. hypertension or obesity), advanced age and male sex appear linked to more severe manifestations of SARS Co-V2 infection, thus raising the question of whether Parkinson's disease (PD) poses an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: In order to describe the outcome of COVID-19 in multi-centre a cohort of PD patients and explore its potential predictors, we gathered the clinical information of 117 community-dwelling patients with COVID-19 followed in 21 tertiary centres in Italy, Iran, Spain, and the UK. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 19.7%, with a significant effect of co-occurrence of dementia, hypertension, and PD duration. CONCLUSIONS: The frailty caused by advanced PD poses an increased risk of mortality during COVID-19.