Objective: The aim of this longitudinal study is to examine which variables are associated with depressive symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD), as well as to identify risk factors for their future occurrence to help inform future prevention and treatment efforts.

Background: Depression is one of the most common non-motor symptoms in PD and the main determinant of quality of life.

Methods: Analyses were performed in data of the SCOPA-PROPARK cohort, a 5-year hospital-based longitudinal cohort of over 400 PD patients who have been examined annually. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted to evaluate differences between patients with and without depression at baseline, while linear mixed models using data of all patients were used to identify factors associated with longitudinal changes in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores. A survival analysis using data of patients without depression at baseline was performed to identify risk factors for future depression (i.e. BDI ≥15).

Results: At baseline 21% of patients had depression, while 28% of patients without this condition at baseline developed depression at some point during follow-up. In about half of these latter group of patients, depression was a persistent phenomenon, whereas in the other half the course was relapsing-remitting. Female gender, higher disability scores, more severe motor fluctuations, autonomic and cognitive dysfunction, poorer nighttime sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) were associated with higher BDI scores over time. Higher baseline BDI score, EDS and a higher levodopa dosage were risk factors for future depression.

Conclusions: Depression in PD is common and may show a persistent or fluctuating course. Factors associated with depression are of a diverse nature but mainly of non-dopaminergic origin, and depression might therefore reflect an inherent characteristic of the underlying disease process. Monitoring for depression in patients with these risk factors is important to identify subjects who are at risk for future development of depression.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/associated-and-predictive-factors-of-depressive-symptoms-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/