Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety and Related Factors in Patients With Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive disease in which patients show symptoms of psychiatric diseases such as anxiety and depression leading to decreased quality of life. So far, few studies have been done in this field in Iran.

The study is a cross-sectional study that investigates the prevalence of anxiety and depression and their related factors in patients with Parkinson’s disease. In this study, 74 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 74 healthy individuals were evaluated and using by Beck’s Depression and Anxiety Inventories.

The prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with Parkinson’s was 37.83% and 78.38%, respectively. The mean score of depression and anxiety was significantly higher in the patient group (P<0.001). Older age, female sex, a higher level of education and a longer duration of illness were significantly associated with more depression and anxiety (P<0.05). Multiple regression models showed that age was a predictive factor in depression. With respect to anxiety, age and duration of the disease were predictive factors.

The severity of depression and anxiety were significantly higher in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to healthy individuals. Age and duration of the disease play a significant role in predicting the severity of depression and anxiety in such patients.