The profile of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital

Abstract

Background: Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease, but data from Sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. This study describes the demographic and clinical characteristics of IPD patients at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital movement disorder clinic and evaluates disease severity with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III) and the Hoehn and Yahr staging scales. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from May 2024 to May 2025, enrolling adult patients (≥ 18 years) with a diagnosis of IPD. Results: Eighty-two patients were included (mean age 68.2 years, s.d. 10.9; 59.8% male; 52.4% Black African). Median disease duration was 3 years (interquartile range [IQR] 1–6). Levodopa monotherapy was the most common treatment (42.7%), followed by combinations with amantadine or pramipexole. The median UPDRS-III score was 60 (IQR 48–76), with 73.2% classified as having severe disease. The Hoehn and Yahr staging revealed that 39% of patients were at Stage 4 and 11% at Stage 5. Conclusion: Most patients in this cohort had advanced disease at presentation, underscoring the need for earlier diagnosis and timely referral to specialist clinics. Contribution: These findings highlight the importance of strengthening movement disorder services in South Africa and suggest that delayed presentation may contribute to the high burden of severe disease in this population.