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Updated: Jul 5, 2025

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: July 24, 2019
Meaning in life and Parkinson's disease in the UK Biobank
Angelina R Sutin1, Martina Luchetti1, Yannick Stephan2
1Florida State University College of Medicine, United States.
Introduction:
Meaning in life is an aspect of eudaimonic well-being associated with lower dementia risk. This research examines whether this protective association extends to Parkinson's disease (PD).
Methods:
Participants (N = 153,569) from the UK Biobank reported on their meaning in life. Cases of PD were identified through health records.
Results:
Meaning in life was associated with a 50 % lower likelihood of prevalent PD (OR = 0.68, 95 % CI = 0.59-0.78). Over the 5-year follow-up, meaning was associated with a 35 % lower risk of incident PD (HR = 0.74, 95 % CI = 0.65-0.83), an association robust to sociodemographic characteristics, depression, history of seeking mental health care, smoking, physical activity, and genetic risk and not moderated by age, sex, education, deprivation, or genetic risk.
Conclusions:
Meaning in life is associated with lower risk of incident PD, an association independent of other major risk factors and generalizable across sociodemographic groups. Meaning is a promising target of intervention for common neurodegenerative diseases.
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