Abstract
Introduction
People with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) may experience speech changes early in the disease process, yet it is unclear how they perceive them. Moreover, in
de novo
PD specifically, the relationship between speech, cognition, and swallowing is not well-established. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between self-perceived speech impairment, clinician-perceived speech impairment, cognitive impairment, and swallowing impairment in
de novo
PD.
Methods
Data were obtained from the Parkinson’s Progressive Markers Initiative. We included baseline visit data from 1072
de novo
PwPD. An ordinal logistic regression was performed to determine what clinical measures were associated with self-perceived speech impairment.
Results
The ordinal logistic regression found that self-perceived speech impairments were significantly associated with clinician-perceived speech impairment (Wald χ
2
[3] = 44.039,
p
2
[3] = 61.863,
p
2
[4] = 32.293,
p
2
[1] = 11.520,
p
Conclusion
This preliminary work showed potential relationships between self-perceived and clinician-perceived speech impairment, swallowing impairment, and cognitive impairment, demonstrating the multidimensional nature of self-perceived speech impairment. More research using more extensive assessment methods is needed to further elucidate these relationships in
de novo
PD.