The East London Parkinson’s disease project – a case-control study of Parkinson’s Disease in a diverse population
There is a relative dearth of research on patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) from under-represented ethnic groups in the United Kingdom. The East London Parkinson Disease project seeks to understand the clinical manifestations and determinants of PD in a diverse population. Data on clinical features were collected, between 2019 and 2024. We assessed 218 patients with PD and 90 controls. Among them, 50% of patients and 64% controls identified as South Asian or Black. South Asian and Black patients had significantly worse motor scores compared to White patients (mean [SD], 42.2 [18.8], and 47.0 [16.6] vs 35.2 [16.4], p < 0.001 and p < 0.001). Cognitive impairment was more prevalent in South Asian (73%) and Black patients (75%) than in White patients (45%, p = 0.002). Our results suggest that patients with PD from South Asian and Black ethnic groups may have more severe motor and certain non-motor features, including cognitive impairment, compared to White patients.
Authors
- Cristina Simonet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5555-0283)
- Ellen Camboe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9756-849X)
- Joshua Kahan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1443-9837)
- Summer Waters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5115-6414)
- Aaron Ben-Joseph (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9404-8918)
- Thomas Boyle
- Alastair John Noyce (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3027-5497)
- Brook Huxford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5908-6983)
- Kamalesh C Dey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3199-5410)
- Tahrina Haque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6462-3287)
- Caroline Budu
- Charles R. Marshall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8227-2354)
- Harneek Chohan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0561-758X)
- Alexandra Zirra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3901-5456)
- Natalie Donkor
- David A. Gallagher
- Andrew Lees
Institutions
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- Barts Health NHS Trust (GB)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Parkinson s Disease
- Published
- 2025-06-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-01031-x
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.95
Funders
- Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
- Barts Charity
- Parkinson's UK