Objective: Our primary objective was to study whether there is a difference in how close relationships are perceived by Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with device-aided treatment (DAT) and their partners. The secondary objective was to investigate how the satisfaction with close relationships in patients with PD and their partners evolves after the initiation of DAT.

Background: Close relationships are variable and evolve over time—no matter whether health status is taken into account or not. DATs include deep brain stimulation, intestinal levodopa-carbidopa infusion, and apomorphine infusion and are initiated during the advanced stage of PD when complications get increasingly common. At that stage, patients and their partners are likely to have lived with the disease for several years and a switch to DAT improves motor and non-motor symptoms for patients on the group level. However, the relatively sudden changes in health status are likely to also affect the dynamic in close relationships that have evolved over years.

Method: Patients with PD and DAT were recruited at three centers in Sweden and Denmark. Patients and their partners were interviewed separately. Attachment patterns were studied using the Experiences in Close Relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire (ECR-RS).

Results: A total of 41 patients with PD and equally as many partners were included. Patients reported a higher degree of attachment-related anxiety, while partners reported higher degree of attachment-related avoidance. A majority of participants reported changes in satisfaction with the relationship one year after the initiation of DAT, either an improvement or a deterioration, while the relationship satisfaction after a median of five years of treatment was more similar to before the start of DAT.

Conclusion: The differences in attachment-related anxiety and avoidance indicate that PD has negative consequences for close relationships, likely due to the gradually shifting of relationship dynamic that a chronic neurodegenerative disorder causes. The satisfaction with close relationships often changes after initiation of DAT for PD, but more research is needed to clarify what factors steer the change towards either an improvement or a deterioration. Note: The two first authors are co-first authors and have contributed equal work to the abstract.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/changes-in-close-relationships-among-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-and-their-partners-following-initiation-of-device-aided-treatment/