Nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease: prevalence and awareness of patients and families.

The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) and the patients' and family members' awareness of these symptoms. We evaluated 74 parkinsonian patients and 54 family members. Seventy-three patients had more than one symptom (12.4+/-5.5 out of 30 symptoms on average). Nocturia was the most common in men and feeling sad in women. The average number of symptoms which patients knew to be related to PD was 5.2+/-6.8 and to family members 7.7+/-6.5. Twenty-eight patients and five family members were unaware of the relationship between any of these symptoms and PD. For PD to be properly managed, nonmotor symptoms should be comprehensively assessed and patients and families informed that these are associated with PD.