Objective: To evaluate the characteristics of anxiety in relation to motor and non-motor symptoms in a cohort of PD patients.

Background: Anxiety is a frequent non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) with great implications in the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of PD patients.

Method: Case-control study of 131 patients with Parkinson’s disease and control group, sex and age matched. The following scales and questionnaires were used for the assessment of PD patients: Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale – Anxiety domain (HADS-A), Parkinson’s Anxiety Scale (PAS), MDS-UPDRS part III, Clinical Impression of Severity Index (CISI), Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire (NMSQ) and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS).

Results: PD patients with advanced stages of the disease had significantly higher scores for anxiety compared to those with earlier stages of the disease. A cut-off score of 11 or higher at the HADS-A was identified in 13 PD patients (9.92%) and these were considered as highly anxious. Although PD patients with anxiety were more severely impaired in terms of motor status, statistical significance was reached only for the CISI scores (10.69 ± 3.15 vs. 7.75 ± 3.53, p = 0.005). Sleep quality was decreased in PD patients with anxiety (p = 0.001). PD patients with anxiety were more fatigued and presented with a broader spectrum of non-motor symptoms compared with PD patients without anxiety.

Conclusion: There is a strong association between anxiety and motor and non-motor symptoms, sleep disturbances and fatigue. Anxiety has a substantial negative impact on HRQL of PD patients, thus early identification and treatment of anxiety can lead to an improvement in the HRQL of these patients.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-and-characteristics-of-anxiety-in-parkinsons-disease/