Clinical characteristics of Parkinson's disease in the outpatient clinic of a regional hospital in Peru.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. The clinical characteristics of adults with PD in a regional referral hospital in Arequipa were determined through a descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted between June 2023 and January 2025. Sixty adults with PD were included (20 women), and the average age was 64.4 years. The most frequent motor phenotype was the tremor-dominant type (73.3%). All received tablets with 250 mg of levodopa and 25 mg of carbidopa. Half took between 250 and 750 mg of levodopa daily, and 21% presented with dyskinesias. The most frequent non-motor symptoms were anxiety (93.2%), depression (88.6%), and mild cognitive impairment (>60%). These findings highlight the opportunity to optimize the treatment of motor and non-motor symptoms with pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies focused on improving the quality of life of PD patients residing in the Arequipa region.