Objective: To explore the impact of personal views of aging in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and how they relate to clinical, cognitive, and behavioural outcomes compared with healthy controls (HC)

Background: Beyond its motor symptoms, PD affects cognitive and emotional well-being, leading to distress, loss of control, and lower quality of life (QoL). In healthy older adults, personal views of aging, encompassing perceptions and expectations regarding one’s own aging process (Felt Age- FA) attitudes towards aging, and awareness of age-related change; are well-known to influence a variety of physical, psychological, cognitive and QoL outcomes. However, little is known about how PD influences this construct and/or whether subjective age perception may relate to disease burden and functional outcomes in PD.

Method: 56 PD and 40 HC underwent comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological assessments and completed questionnaires evaluating overall, mental, and physical FA, attitudes toward ageing (ATOA), awareness of age-related change (AARC), cognitive reserve, coping styles, and QoL. Regression analyses were conducted to explore associations between FA and clinical and non-clinical variables in both groups.

Results: Behavioural measures including apathy, depression, anxiety, and impulsivity were positively correlated with mental FA (feeling mentally younger), ATOA, and negatively with AARC (Losses) in PD. In HC only apathy was correlated with ATOA and AARC (Losses). Overall QoL was positively associated with ATOA, and negatively with AARC (Losses) and physical FA (feeling physically older), in PD only, while cognitive reserve was positively associated with ATOA in both groups. Coping style significantly moderated the relationship only between FA and global cognition (MMSE), executive functions, memory, anxiety, and QoL in the PD group only.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that subjective age plays a particularly relevant role in PD compared with HC. Interestingly, in PD only, coping style appears to be an important moderator linking FA to cognitive and behavioural outcomes. The presence of these associations specifically in PD highlights the potential impact of chronic illness on aging self-perceptions. Addressing subjective age and coping mechanisms may represent a promising target for supportive interventions aimed at improving cognitive and behavioural outcomes in PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/personal-views-of-aging-in-parkinsons-disease-how-do-they-relate-to-clinical-cognitive-and-behavioral-functioning/