The relationship between meaning in life and apathy in people with Parkinson's disease: a cross-sectional analysis

Apathy remains a common and problematic neuropsychiatric feature associated with Parkinson's disease resulting in reductions in health-related quality of life, and effective treatments remain elusive. Meaning in life (MIL) has been implicated in a variety of positive health outcomes, and this study assesses the relationship between apathy and MIL while hoping to identify a potential new interventional target.

A cross-sectional sample of 237 PwPD completed surveys to evaluate MIL and a variety of non-motor symptoms (NMS), and a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to evaluate relationships of interest.

Correlational analysis indicated the presence of meaning in life was statistically negatively and moderately to strongly correlated with apathy (r = - 0.60, p < .001). Hierarchical regression analysis results showed that presence of meaning in life explained a total of 48% of variance in apathy. More specifically, the presence of meaning in life (β = - 0.43, p < .001) was associated with apathy after controlling for sociodemographic and other potentially confounding variables.

This study demonstrates the significant negative relationship between MIL and apathy. Considering the lack of effective treatments for apathy, which is one of the most disabling symptoms affecting PwPD, identifying a potential target for intervention is exciting. MIL has the potential to offer clinicians a novel intervention to provide a much-needed treatment option to improve both apathy and HRQoL.