Gender and Age Difference in Clinical Features and severity of Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Morocco

Parkinson’s disease is the second most frequently reported neurodegenerative disease, behind Alzheimer’s disease. In Morocco, enough information are not available about its prevalence, progression, and characteristics, particularly in Southern regions of the country.

The current study aimed to investigate gender and age differences in the sociodemographic and clinical profile of Parkinson’s disease patients in southern Morocco.

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on a selected cohort of 180 patients, previously diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

The results showed that the onset of the disease was earlier in females compared to males. Besides, we found that the prevalence of rigidity symptoms was slightly higher in younger patients and in patients aged 61 to 70 years old, at the onset of the disease. Importantly, the results showed that the initial symptoms of males were different than females. According to the Hoehn and Yahr scale, the majority (82.6%) of patients of both genders were in the early stage of the disease. Additional statistical analyses, confirmed that the severity of the disease was strongly related to gender (P = 0.02).

The findings confirmed that males and females had different clinical motor characteristics in the initial symptoms and progression of Parkinson’s disease. Nevertheless, experimental studies should be conducted to arrive at a real understanding of what underlies these differences.