OBJECTIVE: Evaluate whether the risk of falls and fractures differs between patients with Parkinson disease with psychosis (PDP) and patients with Parkinson disease (PD) without psychosis at similar disease stages.
METHODS: Patients with PD without psychosis were identified in the Medicare claims databases (2008–2018) and followed from the first PD diagnosis date during the study period. Patients with a subsequent diagnosis of psychosis were included in the PDP group. Patients with PDP and PD without psychosis were propensity score-matched based on characteristics within blocks of time since cohort entry. The incidence rates (IRs), expressed per 100 person-years, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of falls and fractures were evaluated as composite and separate outcomes. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were used to compare patients with PDP and PD without psychosis in the matched cohort.
RESULTS: 154,306 patients had PD without psychosis and no falls or fractures before cohort entry; the IR for falls and fractures was 11.41 events (95% CI, 11.29–11.53). 12,127 patients (7.8%) had a subsequent PDP diagnosis. PDP patients had a higher prevalence of most comorbidities and risk factors for falls and fractures than those without psychosis. The crude IR for falls and fractures among PDP patients was 29.03 events (95% CI, 28.27–29.81). PD without psychosis and PDP groups had more falls than fractures. After matching, 24,144 PD patients without psychosis (15.6%) and 12,077 PDP patients (99.6%) were retained. Matched PDP patients had a higher incidence of falls and fractures than PD patients without psychosis (IRR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.39–1.49). The higher increased rate was noted separately for falls (IRR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.43–1.54) and any fractures (IRR = 1.17; 95% CI, 1.08–1.27) as well as within specific types of fracture, including pelvis and hip fractures.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a modest but consistently higher increased risk of falls and fractures in PDP patients compared with PD patients without psychosis.
