Patterns of psychological problems in Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE: To identify patterns of psychological problems in Parkinson's disease (PD). METHOD: A sample of 3075 patients was surveyed to determine frequencies of psychological problems and cross-validated cluster analyses were computed to identify patterns of these problems. RESULTS: An increase of symptoms during arousal was reported by 68%, sleep disturbances by 32% of the sample, and sexual problems by 57% of men and 22% of women. Less frequently reported were difficulties in communicating (27%), needing help of others (38%), and depressive moods (20%). Four patterns of psychological problems were identified: general low stress, general high stress, sexual and social problems, and non-social problems. CONCLUSION: The study confirms the clinical observation that PD patients differ not only in degree, but also in structure of psychological stress. Social and non-social stress constitute principal types of stress experienced in PD. This distinction should be taken into account for any approach to support people with PD.