Sex Differences in Cognitive Changes in De Novo Parkinson’s Disease

Objective:To evaluate the sex differences in cognitive course over 4 years in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to controls.Methods:Four-year longitudinal cognitive scores of 257 cognitively intact PD, 167 PD-MCI, and 140 controls from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative were included. Longitudinal scores of men and women, and PD with and without MCI were compared.Results:Women had better verbal memory, men had better visuospatial function. There was no interaction between sex, diagnostic group, and/or time (4-year follow-up period).Conclusions:Sex differences in cognitive course in de novo PD are similar to healthy aging. Cognitive decline rates in PD with and without MCI are similar for the first 4 years of PD.