title: Perceived stress in prodromal Huntington disease.
abstract: This study examines perceived stress and its relationship to depressive symptoms, life changes and functional capacity in a large sample of individuals who are positive for the Huntington disease (HD) gene expansion but not yet diagnosed. Participants were classified by estimated proximity to HD diagnosis (far, mid, near) and compared with a non-gene-expanded comparison group. Persons in the mid group had the highest stress scores. A significant interaction between age and time since HD genetic testing was also found. Secondary analyses using data from a different data collection point and including a diagnosed group showed the highest stress scores in the diagnosed group. Possible explanations and implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Downing
authors.forename: Megan M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Leigh J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Beglinger
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.forename: Kelly C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Epping
authors.forename: Jane S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Paulsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult