[Prevalence of mental disorders in persons with Parkinson's disease]

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of cognitive disorder, depression, anxiety and psychotic symptoms in persons with Parkinson's disease in the general population.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: The Netherlands.

Method: Between May and September 1995, a random sample of 384 persons with Parkinson's disease (members of the Parkinson's disease patient organisation plus 24 Dutch nursing home patients) were investigated with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

Results: The 1-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorder was 39.1%, of which 13.3% cognitive impairment, 5.5% depression (2.3% major depression and 4.7% dysthymia), and 24.5% anxiety disorder (4.9% agoraphobia and 11.5% social phobia). Psychiatric comorbidity mainly concerned anxiety disorder, in combination with depression (21%) or cognitive disorder (28%). Four out of ten persons who ever had a depression or anxiety disorder, developed the first episode after the onset of Parkinson's disease.

Conclusion: The prevalence of psychiatric disorder in persons with Parkinson's disease was high, compared with figures of the general population, notably for anxiety and cognitive disorder, but not for depression.