Clinical Characteristics of Patients with De Novo Parkinson’s Disease and a Positive Family History

<i>Background/Objectives</i>: A family history of Parkinson's disease (PD) is an important risk factor for developing PD. Because only a few studies have investigated the clinical characteristics of PD patients based on family history, this study compared the clinical characteristics of PD patients with and without a family history of PD. <i>Methods</i>: The study involved 356 patients with de novo PD. The data on the patients' PD family histories were obtained from the patients and their caregivers. Motor and non-motor PD symptoms were assessed using the appropriate scales. <i>Results</i>: Out of the 356 PD patients, 26 (7.3%) had a family history of PD. Compared with patients without a family history of PD, those with a family history of PD tended to be younger at diagnosis (67.9 years vs. 62.2 years, respectively; <i>p</i> = 0.009) and exhibited significantly more severe rigidity (<i>p</i> = 0.036). Motor subtype was not different between the PD patients with and without a family history. PD patients with a family history experienced significantly fewer falls/cardiovascular symptoms within the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale domains (<i>p</i> = 0.001) compared to their counterparts, although this was not statistically significant upon adjusting for age (<i>p</i> = 0.119). <i>Conclusions</i>: In de novo PD patients, having a family history of PD is associated with a younger age at diagnosis and more severe rigidity.