Depression in Patients With Parkinson's Disease: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Depression, a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD), is often underdiagnosed and can significantly impact the quality of life (QOL) and treatment outcomes. Specific disease-related factors and non-specific factors may contribute to depression, and these factors should be identified early to plan the appropriate interventions that promote positive mood. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression in PD patients and to find out the factors associated with depression among patients with PD attending the neurology OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Trivandrum.

A cross-sectional study was conducted at the neurology OPD of Government Medical College Hospital, Trivandrum, from December 2021 to February 2023. We included patients with PD diagnosed according to the United Kingdom PD Society Brain Bank criteria. We collected data from 220 patients with PD by interview technique. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess depression and anxiety in this study. Staging and the severity of the motor symptoms were assessed using the Hoehn and Yahr scale and the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III (MDS UPDRS Part III), respectively.

Among 220 patients with PD, 31.8% (95% CI: 4.36-5.40) had depression. The non-specific variables, such as education, living arrangements, and gender, and disease-specific variables, such as the severity of motor symptoms (MDS UPDRS Part III score) and the Hoehn and Yahr staging of PD, had a statistically significant association with depression. Logistic regression analysis showed that the severity of motor symptoms (OR=2.69, p=0.004)) and female gender (OR=1.830, p= 0.05) were the independent factors associated with depression.

Depression is a common non-motor symptom of PD that is often underdiagnosed and undertreated and can significantly impact the QOL of patients and their caregivers. Hence, it should be identified early and managed by pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies.