Personality and Parkinson's disease: A meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Personality changes are recognized as potential pre-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD).
• Previous studies on PD personality profiles yielded inconsistent findings regarding specific traits like Novelty Seeking (NS) and Harm Avoidance (HA).

Purpose of the Study:

• To clarify the personality profile of Parkinson's disease patients using a meta-analysis.
• To analyze personality traits according to Cloninger's Psychobiological Model (PM) and the Big Five Model (BFM).

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis was conducted on 17 studies comparing PD patients with healthy subjects (HS).
• Effect sizes were calculated using Hedges'g, with assessments for heterogeneity and publication bias.
• Meta-regressions explored moderators such as age, gender, schooling, and tool type.

Main Results:

• PD patients scored higher on Harm Avoidance (HA) and lower on Novelty Seeking (NS) within the PM framework.
• PD patients exhibited higher Neuroticism and lower Openness and Extraversion according to the BFM.
• No significant differences were found in Reward Dependence, Perseverance/Persistence, or character levels.

Conclusions:

• The personality profile in PD is characterized by elevated Neuroticism and HA, alongside reduced Openness, Extraversion, and NS.
• This identified personality profile likely reflects pre-morbid traits in PD patients.
• These personality characteristics may contribute to the development and persistence of affective disorders in PD.