Parkinson's Care Gaps: Do Immigrant Patients Face Barriers?

TOPLINEImmigrant patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) had clinical characteristics, disease severity, and treatment patterns similar to native patients but were more likely to miss follow-up visits and had poorer medication adherence.METHODOLOGYResearchers conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare clinical characteristics, baseline prodromal and motor symptoms, and healthcare engagement between immigrant and native patients with PD in a metropolitan area of the Spanish healthcare system.They included 98 immigrant patients with PD (mean age, 62.99 years; 56.1% men) who were matched with 98 native patients (mean age, 63.05 years; 56.1% men) diagnosed with PD between 2000 and 2025.Clinical characteristics, premotor symptoms, and disease severity were evaluated at baseline and during follow-up visits using standardised rating scales.Healthcare engagement was assessed by tracking missed scheduled follow-up visits and medication adherence errors.A missed follow up-visit was defined as failure to attend at least one outpatient visit, and a medication adherence error was defined as any deviation from the prescribed antiparkinsonian treatment regimen, including missed doses, incorrect dosing, or treatment continuation for reasons other than side effects.TAKEAWAYNative patients had a higher prevalence of hyposmia than immigrant patients (48.98% vs 26.53%; P = .002), whereas rates of other premotor symptoms did not differ between groups.Postural tremor scores were significantly higher in native patients than in immigrant patients (P = .003), but disease duration, overall motor severity, disease severity, and treatment patterns were similar between groups.Immigrant patients missed follow-up visits more often (34.69% vs 16.33%) and had more medication adherence errors (24.49% vs 11.22%; P < .05 for both) than native patients.After adjustments, immigrant patients had 2.69-fold higher odds of both missed follow-up visits and medication adherence errors (P < .05 for both).IN PRACTICE"Our findings support the need to consider migratory and sociocultural factors when planning the long-term care of patients with PD," the authors wrote.SOURCEThis study was led by Alejandro Peral-Quirós of the Movement Disorders Unit, Complex Hospitalari Universitari Moisès Broggi, Carrer d'Oriol Martorell, Sant Joan Despí, Spain. It was published online on July 15, 2026, in Journal of Clinical Medicine.LIMITATIONSMultiple statistical comparisons were performed without correction for multiple testing, which may have introduced false-positive results. Comparisons between native patients and ethnic subgroups were not performed because the immigrant cohort was predominantly of Latin American origin.DISCLOSURESNo external funding was received for this study. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.