Introduction:

Cognitive impairment is common in Parkinson’s disease and represents a risk for dementia. Identifying associated factors will help implement early interventions and study its progression.

Objective:

To identify factors associated with cognitive impairment.

Method:

Cross-sectional study of 306 subjects with Parkinson’s disease who were assessed for 12 months. Demographics and clinical variables were analyzed as explanatory variables, and cognitive impairment as outcome variable. Significant variables were used to construct a cognitive impairment predictive model.

Results:

Cognitive impairment was reported in 43.8%. Female gender (p = 0.001, odds ratio [OR] = 1.77), age at diagnosis (p < 0.001, mean deviation [MD] = 5.7), level of education (p < 0.001, MD = −2.9), disease duration (p = 0.003, MD = 1.7), MDS-UPDRS part III score (p < 0.001, MD = 9.7), presence of anxiety (p = 0.007, OR = 2.11), hallucinations (p = 0.029, OR = 2.27) and freezing of gait (p = 0.048, OR = 1.91) were predictors for cognitive impairment. The use of type B monoamine oxidase inhibitors was associated with less cognitive impairment (p = 0.001).

Conclusions:

Predictive factors that were consistent with those previously reported were identified. Prospective studies are required in order to clarify the effect of type B monoamine oxidase inhibitors on cognition.