Dilmaghani S, Atieh J, Khanna L, et al. - Patients suffering from Parkinson disease (PD) exhibited that oropharyngeal dysphagia severity, as determined using FOIS (Functional Oral Intake Scale), was related to poorer survival as well as shorter time to hospitalization for dysphagia-related complications, pneumonia, or death.

• A total of 312 PD patients were included in this retrospective cohort study; 138 patients had a recorded FOIS score.

• Multivariate analyses revealed patients with FOIS 5 (RR = 2.01), FOIS 3 (RR = 2.78), and FOIS 1 (RR = 2.50) were significantly related to elevated risk of hospitalization or death vs FOIS 7 following covariate adjustments.

• A significantly increased risk of hospitalization or death was also evident with GERD (RR = 1.28).

• Patients having lower FOIS scores were found to have a shorter time to first hospitalization or death.