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Capturing Behavioral Symptoms in Huntington's Disease Using the Huntington's Disease-Behavioral Questionnaire
Siena Rigatuso1, Krisha Bagga1, Shelby Hughes1,2
1Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
Insights
The Huntington's Disease Behavioral Questionnaire (HD-BQ) effectively captures behavioral symptoms in Huntington's Disease (HD). Companion reports reveal more severe symptoms than patient self-reports, highlighting anosognosia in HD patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
- Genetics
Background:
- The Huntington's Disease Behavioral Questionnaire (HD-BQ) assesses behavioral symptoms across cognitive, psychiatric, and functional domains in Huntington's Disease (HD).
- The HD-BQ includes both patient- and companion-reported versions to account for anosognosia, a common deficit in HD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the HD-BQ in identifying and quantifying behavioral symptoms experienced by individuals with HD.
- To compare patient self-assessments with companion-reported symptoms to understand symptom perception discrepancies.
Main Methods:
- The HD-BQ was administered to 71 individuals with manifest HD and their companions, alongside 71 healthy controls (HC).
- Statistical analyses, including Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests, were used to compare HD-BQ scores between groups.
Main Results:
- Individuals with HD reported significantly more severe behavioral symptoms compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001).
- Companions reported more widespread and severe behavioral symptoms in HD patients than the patients themselves (Z = -3.7, p < 0.001).
- Notable discrepancies between patient and companion reports were found in cognitive domains, including difficulties with shifting thoughts, concentration, managing commitments, judgment, and indecisiveness.
Conclusions:
- The HD-BQ is a valuable tool for capturing a broad spectrum of behavioral disturbances associated with Huntington's Disease.
- Companion reports consistently indicate greater symptom frequency and severity than patient self-reports, underscoring the impact of anosognosia in HD.
Background:
The Huntington's Disease Behavioral Questionnaire (HD-BQ) captures behavioral symptoms arising from cognitive, psychiatric, and functional domains. Recognizing the high prevalence of anosognosia in HD, the HD-BQ incorporates patient- and companion-reported versions.
Objective:
Examine the utility of the HD-BQ in capturing behavioral symptoms in HD.
Methods:
The HD-BQ was administered to 71 manifest HD patients and their companions, plus 71 healthy controls (HC). Differences in HD-BQ scores were examined using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests.
Results:
HD patients reported more severe behavioral symptoms than HC (p < 0.001). Companions reported more widespread and severe symptoms than patients (Z = -3.7, p < 0.001). The largest discrepancies were observed for cognitive items-difficulty shifting thoughts or activities (p < 0.001), concentrating (p = 0.002), keeping track of commitments (p = 0.006), judgment (p = 0.004), and indecisiveness (p = 0.022).
Conclusions:
The HD-BQ captures a wide range of behavioral disturbances in HD. Companions consistently reported more frequent and severe symptoms than patients, likely reflecting patients' anosognosia.
