Objective: We conducted a scoping review to understand the nature and impacts of social withdrawal in PD and identify evidence gaps.

Background: Social withdrawal has been linked to early mortality and negative health outcomes. This problem in social health is a common clinical feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that may lead to adverse patient and caregiver outcomes. Understanding the phenomenon of social withdrawal in PD is critical for supporting patients to maintain social connectedness.

Method: We conducted this scoping review using the PRISMA-ScR Guidelines. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO for studies of social withdrawal in individuals living with PD. For articles meeting inclusion criteria, study characteristics and relevant findings were retrieved. Findings were synthesized, including descriptions of social withdrawal and its prevalence, associated factors, outcomes, and interventions.

Results: Fifty-eight studies were included in this review. We found that patients with PD limited social activities voluntarily and involuntarily, and social withdrawal was related to an array of factors including physical, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms, perceptions of stigma, and disease and treatment-related factors. Consequences of social withdrawal included compromised quality of life, depression, and risk of cognitive impairment, as well as reduced caregivers’ social engagement. Community-based social activity programs appeared to increase social participation. Across the reviewed studies, the use of heterogeneous measures for social withdrawal existed. There was a scarcity of research that examined outcomes related to social withdrawal in PD, and few studies employed longitudinal methods or tested interventions to reduce social withdrawal.

Conclusion: Social withdrawal is pervasive in PD and has been linked to various factors. This review identified significant gaps in literature on social withdrawal in PD. Further quantitative research using validated instruments to assess the social concepts of interest and investigate health outcomes of social withdrawal is warranted. Future intervention studies should target a broad range of intrapersonal factors such as depression or anxiety symptoms, feeling of stigmatization, and coping associated with social withdrawal, in addition to efforts in improving social activity participation.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/social-withdrawal-in-parkinsons-disease-a-scoping-review/