Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, therapeutic variables, and lifestyles of enrolled patients
| Variables | All patients (n = 500) | N° valid (%) |
| Age (y) | 66 (58 –73) | 500 (100) |
| Sex | 500 (100) | |
| Male –n° (%) | 308 (61.6) | |
| Female –n° (%) | 192 (38.4) | |
| Weight (kg) | 73 (63 –82) | 500 (100) |
| Height (cm) | 170 (162 –175) | 498 (99.6) |
| BMI (kg/cm2) | 25 (23 –28) | 498 (99.6) |
| Duration of parkinsonism (y) | 4 (3 –7) | 496 (99.2) |
| Duration of LD treatment (y) | 2 (1 –5) | 464 (92.8) |
| Clinical diagnosis | 494 (98.8) | |
| Parkinson’s Disease –n° (%) | 373 (75.5) | |
| Atypical Parkinsonism –n° (%) | 121 (24.5) | |
| LEDD (mg/kg/day) | 369 (200 –560) | 497 (99.4) |
| H&Y scale (“off”) | 2 (2 –2.5) | 424 (84.8) |
| MDS-UPDRS part III (“off”) | 27 (17 –38) | 492 (98.4) |
| MDS-UPDRS part III (“on”) | 19 (11 –30) | 494 (98.8) |
| Decarboxylase inhibitor | 500 (100) | |
| Carbidopa –n° (%) | 121 (24.2) | |
| Benserazide –n° (%) | 379 (75.8) | |
| Antiparkinsonian cotherapies | 500 (100) | |
| Dopamine agonists –n° (%) | 216 (43.2) | |
| MAO-B inhibitors –n° (%) | 75 (15.0) | |
| Amantadine –n° (%) | 27 (5.4) | |
| Other cotherapies | 500 (100%) | |
| Antihypertensive –n° (%) | 217 (43.4) | |
| Heart disease –n° (%) | 100 (20.0) | |
| Cholesterol lowering –n° (%) | 83 (16.6) | |
| Gastrointestinal disorders –n° (%) | 61 (12.2) | |
| Antidiabetic –n° (%) | 30 (6.0) | |
| Hypothyroidism –n° (%) | 29 (5.8) | |
| Antidepressant –n° (%) | 155 (31.0) | |
| Antipsychotic –n° (%) | 15 (3.0) | |
| Prostatic hypertrophy –n° (%) | 69 (13.8) | |
| Coffee consumption –n° (%) | 340 (69.1) | 492 (98.4) |
| Alcohol consumption –n° (%) | 204 (41.7) | 489 (97.8) |
| Cigarette smoke consumption –n° (%) | 60 (12.2) | 493 (98.6) |
Values are expressed as median (interquartiles). BMI, body mass index; LD, levodopa; LEDD, levodopa equivalent daily dose; H&Y, Hoehn & Yahr; MDS UPDRS, Moveme-nt Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale; MAO-B, monoamino oxidase-B.