Objective: To assess the relationship between loneliness and facets of parkinsonism in community-based samples.

Background: Loneliness increases the risk of mortality, dementia, depression, and motor impairment. In Parkinson’s disease (PD), studies suggest a link between loneliness and incident PD, subjective motor signs, and quality of life. However, none of these studies have linked loneliness to objective measures of parkinsonism.

Method: Individuals were selected from RUSH’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center database, which compiles several studies that have been previously described. To be included, individuals needed to have completed both the modified Part III of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and abbreviated de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale during an initial visit. Nonparametric correlations assessed relationships between loneliness and four cardinal signs of parkinsonism: tremor, gait, bradykinesia, and rigidity. A multiple regression model included these signs and demographic, non-motor (i.e., depression, global cognition), and social (i.e., isolation) factors as covariates.

Results: Of the 2,864 selected individuals, 74% were women, 69% were racially non-minoritized, with mean age of 76.9 years (SD = 7.9), 15.7 mean years (SD = 3.9) of education, and 21.5% exhibiting two or more cardinal signs of parkinsonism. All four signs were statistically related to loneliness; the strongest relationship was with gait (ρ=0.23), followed by bradykinesia (ρ=0.16), rigidity (ρ=0.11), and tremor (ρ=0.10). When all four signs were jointly entered in a regression model, only gait remained statistically significant, and explained a small portion of the variance in loneliness (adjusted R²=0.05). The fully corrected model explained a much larger proportion of variance (adjusted R²=0.28), however, the gait feature remained statistically significant.

Conclusion: In community-dwelling older adults, signs of parkinsonism have statistical relationships with loneliness, with gait having the most robust relationship—albeit small overall—and tremor having the smallest relationship—statistically significant, but negligible in import. Notably, gait remains an independent contributor to loneliness even when correcting for other established contributors. These findings inform movement specialists on which motor phenotypes are most likely to have social morbidity and, thus, benefit from screening and psychosocial intervention.

References: 1. González DA, Tosin MH de S, Goetz CG. The plight of loneliness in Parkinson’s disease: New opportunities. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2022;105:145-148. doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2022.10.029
2. Subramanian I, Farahnik J, Mischley LK. Synergy of pandemics-social isolation is associated with worsened Parkinson severity and quality of life. NPJ Parkinson’s disease. 2020;6(1). doi:10.1038/S41531-020-00128-9
3. Vardanyan R, König HH, Hajek A. Association between Parkinson’s Disease and Psychosocial Factors: Results of the Nationally Representative German Ageing Survey. J Clin Med. 2022;11(15):4569. doi:10.3390/jcm11154569
4. Prell T, Schönenberg A, Heimrich KG. The impact of loneliness on quality of life in people with Parkinson’s disease: results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Frontiers in Medicine. 2023;10. Accessed June 28, 2023. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1183289
5. Terracciano A, Luchetti M, Karakose S, Stephan Y, Sutin AR. Loneliness and Risk of Parkinson Disease. JAMA Neurology. 2023;80(11):1138-1144. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.3382
6. World Health Organization. Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older People: Advocacy Brief. World Health Organization; 2021. Accessed June 28, 2023. https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240030749
7. United States Public Health Service Office of the Surgeon General. Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The US Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Health Effects of Social Connection and Community. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; 2023. Accessed June 28, 2023. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/connection/index.html

« Back to 2024 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/loneliness-relates-to-gait-over-other-features-of-parkinsonism/