Frequency of Depressive Symptoms in Patients of Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Background: To determine the frequency of depressive symptoms in patients of Parkinson's
disease (PD).
Material and Methods: It was an observational study conducted in out-door and in-door
departments of the Neurology ward, King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore from
April 2003 to November 2003. 100 patients of Parkinson's disease (diagnosed by consultant
neurologists) were registered and after fulfilling all the inclusion and exclusion criteria, Hospital
Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was applied to see the depressive symptoms in patients of
PD.
Results: Out of 100 patients, 81 (81%) patients were depressed. All the patients with
bradykinesia were depressed. Only 07 depressed patients were taking antidepressants.
Conclusion: Depression can be viewed as a common clinical feature of PD and goes
unrecognized in majority of the patients of PD. Depression and PD are not coexisting diseases
but probably biochemical identical diseases. Bradykinesia can be a strong predictor for
depression in patients of PD. Majority of PD patients with depression were not being treated for
depression