Analysis of NIHS: Depression, Anxiety, and Apathy in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is caused by a decrease in dopaminergic neurons, which are typically involved in the transmission of motor signals within the central nervous system (Remy, Doder, Lees, Turjanski, & Brooks, 2005). PD has mixed correlations to increased rates of depression, anxiety, and apathy (Dissanayaka et al., 2010; Kirsch-Darrow, Marsiske, Okun, Bauer, & Bowers, 2011; Martínez-Horta, Pagonabarraga, Fernández de Bobadilla, García-Sanchez, & Kulisevsky, 2013; Prediger, Matheus, Schwarzbold, Lima, & Vital, 2012). Therefore, the current study tested whether each condition—depression, anxiety, and apathy—had a significantly increased incidence in patients with PD compared to those with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and neither disorder. This study utilized the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) database in the analysis. It showed that PD is not associated with an increased incidence in depression, anxiety, and apathy. However, it showed that females overall were significantly more apathetic and depressed than males. It did not show that females were more anxious than males. Lastly, measures of depression, anxiety, and apathy were correlated. In summary, the current study supports gender-reported differences in reported levels of depression and apathy, but it does not offer support that males and females with a MSD or PD reported feeling depressed differently than those with neither condition.