Date

5-16-2024

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Brooke Snyder

Keywords

Parkinson’s disease, anxiety, depression, excessive daytime sleepiness

Disciplines

Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Psychiatry and Psychology

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder presenting with motor symptoms, such as tremors at rest, bradykinesia, rigidity, and gait instability, and non-motor symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD). The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of anxiety, depression, and EDS scores with being Prodromal (PPD) - at risk of developing the disease (PPD), having been diagnosed with PD, or being a Healthy Control (HC) using a multinomial logistic regression model. Additional analysis examined RBD scores and their difference across PPD, PD, and HC cohorts. The study analyzed secondary data obtained from 2,241 participants enrolled in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) study launched by the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2010. The results revealed a statistically significant association between increased depression scores and the likelihood of being in the PPD or PD cohort, and a statistically significant association between increased EDS scores and the likelihood of being diagnosed with PD but not with PPD. Anxiety scores did not change the likelihood of being PPD or PD. Being male decreased the likelihood of being PD, but not PPD. The Kruskal - Wallis test demonstrated a statistically significant association between higher RBD scores with PPD and PD compared to HC. The study provided a better understanding of non-motor symptoms of PD and its implications in clinical practice, as well as early diagnosis and better treatment response that may delay the progression of PD and improve PD patients’ quality of life (QoL).

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