Increased intake of fast acting carbohydrates in patients with Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) regularly report an increased desire for food or beverages with high sugar content. OBJECTIVE To verify the hypothesis of an increase intake of fast-acting carbohydrates in PD patients. METHODS This study investigated the consumption of high sugar-content food products in 221 PD patients compared with 184 healthy controls using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS Male PD patients reported significant more often a high consumption of chocolate (p=0.005) and other sweets (p<0.001) when compared to healthy controls. Moreover, PD patients with a high intake of these products showed a significant longer disease duration (p=0.002). CONCLUSION Our study confirmed changes in intake of fast acting carbohydrates derived from sweets in PD. Future studies should address the observed association with disease progression to understand underlying pathophysiological mechanisms leading to this behavioral change.