Subjects were 61 years old, on average; two-thirds were men. The mean BMI was about 25 kg/m2. Patients were excluded if they had a change in dopaminergic therapy in the previous month, previous deep brain stimulation, medications that would interfere with glucose metabolism, or diabetes, among other things.
PD patients had slightly higher fasting urine glucose (P = .02). They also had lower fasting plasma insulin, but the difference wasn’t statistically significant (P = .5). Dysglycemia was also associated with higher BMI. Male gender and higher levodopa-equivalent doses were protective.
“The association between dysglycemia and PD is bilateral. In many studies, PD enhances the risk, but dysglycemia and particularly diabetes have been reported to increase the risk of PD. It goes both ways. There’s a lot that remains to be understood,” Dr. Marques said.
There was no external funding, and the investigators had nothing to disclose.
SOURCE: Marques A et al. Neurology. 2018 Apr 90(15 Suppl.):S3.008