BACKGROUND: Non-motor symptoms (NMSs) are a real burden in Parkinson's disease 
(PD). They may appear in early pre-symptomatic stage as well as throughout the 
disease course. However, their relationship with the deterioration of the 
patient's quality of life (QoL) is still under debate. This study aimed to 
investigate the prevalence of NMSs and their impact on the QoL in a cohort of 
Moroccan patients.
METHODS: We carried out a cross-transactional study, where a total of 117 
patients were submitted to a structured clinical interview and examination 
investigating motor and NMSs based on common and conventional scales. Motor 
symptoms were assessed by the UPDRS I-VI during ON condition. The NMSs were 
evaluated with common scales and their relationship with the QoL was 
investigated.
RESULTS: The mean patient's age was 60.77 ± 11.36 years old, and the median 
disease duration was 6 years [2.5-9.5]. Motor's phenotype subtypes were the 
mixed form in 40.2% of patients, akinetic-rigid in 20.5% and a tremor-dominant 
form in 39.3%. The median Hoehn and Yahr staging was 2 [1-2.5]. Regarding NMSs, 
the most common were urinary dysfunctions (82.6%), sleep (80.6%), and 
gastrointestinal (80%) disorders. Other autonomic dysfunctions were also 
frequent: thermoregulatory dysfunctions 58.6%, cardiovascular troubles 50.9%, 
and sexual dysfunctions 47.9%. Depression was present in 47.9% and fatigue 
symptoms in 23.1%. The median score of SCOPA-AUT was 14 [7.75-21.80]. The median 
PD questionnaire 39-score index (PDQ39-SI) was 23.22% and the most affected 
dimension was "mobility." Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the 
SCOPA-AUT score impacted the QoL (p = 0.001), especially the gastrointestinal 
(p = 0.007), and cardiovascular (p = 0.049) dimensions.
CONCLUSION: Our data show that all patients have presented at least one NMS. 
Autonomic and sleep disorders were the most frequent, and in contrast to other 
studies, digestive and cardiovascular disorders were rather the factors 
influencing negatively the QoL of patients. Understanding the pathophysiology of 
these NMSs should be placed at the forefront in order to develop new therapeutic 
approaches by improving the QoL of PD patients.