Constipation and other gut woes may be early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease, study finds

In a vast research project, scientists looked at data from the US and examined almost 25,000 people

Gut woes may be a predictor of Parkinson’s disease (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Constipation, difficulty swallowing and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) could be early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests.

The findings came after scientists looked at data from the US and examined 24,624 people who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease of unknown cause and compared them with those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease or neither.

Those who had Parkinson’s were then matched with people from the other groups based on age, sex, race, ethnicity and the duration of diagnosis.

The aim was to see and compare the frequency of gut conditions included in their electronic health record for an average of six years before their Parkinson’s diagnosis.

In another approach to the same theory, researchers divided all the adult participants in the study who had been diagnosed with any of 18 gut conditions into separate groups — one for each condition. These individuals were then paired with those not having the specific gut condition.

The participant’s medical records were then checked for five years to observe the onset of Parkinson’s disease or other neurological disorders.

After the analysis, the study authors concluded that both methods identified four gut conditions that were associated with a higher risk of a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

These were gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and constipation, which all showed more than double the risk of Parkinson’s within five years before diagnosis. Meanwhile, IBS without diarrhoea correlated with a 17 per cent increased risk.

The study’s authors also noted that other gut issues such as functional dyspepsia, IBS with diarrhoea and diarrhoea with faecal incontinence, were also more prevalent among people who developed Parkinson’s disease. In addition, these were also more prevalent before the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or cerebrovascular disease.

As this is an observational study, researchers highlighted the limitations is their theories and noted that more needs to be done.

They concluded: “This study is the first to establish substantial observational evidence that the clinical diagnosis of not only constipation but also dysphagia, gastroparesis and irritable bowel syndrome without diarrhoea might specifically predict the development of Parkinson’s disease.”

“These findings warrant alertness for [gastrointestinal] syndromes in patients at higher risk for Parkinson’s disease and highlight the need for further investigation of [gastrointestinal] precedents in Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular disease,” they added.

This study was published online in the journal Gut.