title: Depression in patients with Parkinson's disease: impact on functioning.
abstract: Depression is a frequently observed neuropsychiatric phenomenon in Parkinson's disease (PD) and it has been lately considered as a manifestation of such disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between depression and clinical aspects of PD and to assess the impact of the co-occurrence of such condition on the burden imposed by PD. Fifty outpatients diagnosed with idiopathic PD according to the London Brain Bank criteria were examined. PD was evaluated using Hoehn & Yahr staging (H&Y), United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Schwab & England (S&E) functional capacity evaluation. A semi-structured clinical interview was used. The diagnosis of PD was made by neurologist experts on movement disorders, and the diagnosis of depression was made by a psychiatrist, according to the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Depressive symptoms were additionally measured using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale. The analysis of quantitative data was performed using descriptive statistics, univariate linear regression, T-Student Test and ANOVA. Seventeen (34%) patients were diagnosed as clinically depressed and, when compared to the non-depressed ones, presented the following results: H&Y: 3.2 vs. 2.8; UPDRS total: 75.7 vs. 65.3; S&E: 53.5% vs. 65.8% and PD duration: 114.4 months vs. 125.8 months. Depressed patients showed more advanced staging (H&Y), a more severe global clinical condition (UPDRS) and also a greater decrease in their functional capacity (S&E). These data reinforce the hypothesis that depression is associated to poorer functioning in patients with PD.
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Institute, Campus of Rio Claro, UNESP-Sao Paulo State University, Brazil. fstella@rc.unesp.br
authors.forename: Florindo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stella
authors.forename: Claudio E M
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Banzato
authors.forename: Elizabeth M A
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Barasnevicius Quagliato
authors.forename: Maura Aparecida
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Viana
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index