Abstract
Non-motor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) encompass a variety of symptoms which may differ in terms of presentation and severity according to gender. However, literature evidences are often conflicting due to the use of different instruments. The Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) is a validated tool widely used to holistically assess NMSs in PD. We aimed to summarize available data on gender differences in NMS severity in PD using the NMSS. A literature review has been performed in the PubMed and Scopus databases up to 1st February 2025. A random effect model was used to report pooled effects. Nine full text articles have been included in the analysis, pooling the data of 4352 PD patients [N = 2453 (58%) men]. Women showed higher symptoms severity in mood/cognition whereas higher severity in the sexual domain was found in men. These findings highlight the need for a specific gender-related approach in PD.
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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the scientific literature. Further requests can be addressed to the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
Dr. Terravecchia Claudio was supported by the International Ph.D. Program in Neurosciences, University of Catania, Italy.
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CEC: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – Original Draft; CT: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – Original Draft; LLP: Investigation, Writing – Original Draft; ST: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing; GD: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing; DC: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing; GM: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing; MZ: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing; AN: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision.
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Cicero, C.E., Terravecchia, C., Pettinato, L.L. et al. Sex differences in the severity of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. npj Parkinsons Dis. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-026-01323-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-026-01323-w
