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Subthreshold depression and subjective cognitive complaints in Parkinson's disease
G Santangelo1, C Vitale, L Trojano
1Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy; IDC Hermitage-Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
Background And Purpose:
Subthreshold depression (SubD) is characterized by clinically relevant depressive symptoms not meeting criteria for major depression. The possible association of SubD with subjective cognitive complaints and/or objective cognitive impairments was investigated in a sample of consecutive, non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) outpatients.
Methods:
Amongst 115 patients, SubD was identified in 30 patients, major depression in 33; 36 patients were classified as non-depressed. Enrolled patients were administered tests and questionnaires validated in PD for assessing objective and subjective cognitive dysfunctions.
Results:
On objective cognitive measures SubD patients did not differ from non-depressed patients, whereas depressed patients achieved significantly lower scores than the other two groups. SubD and depressed patients reported more cognitive complaints than non-depressed patients.
Conclusions:
SubD is a non-motor aspect of PD that is not related to objective cognitive deficits but is associated with subjective cognitive complaints, thus impacting on patients' well-being.
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