Study finds link between Parkinson’s disease and Depression
According to an article published online Wednesday in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, risk of Parkinson's disease is higher in people with depression, especially those with severe depression.
Parkinson's is a nervous system disorder, which is characterized by tremors, slurred speech, stiffness, an unusual gait and other symptoms. According to study authors, that depression is a warning sign or early phase of the disease.
The findings about the disease came less than a year after the suicide of Robin Williams. He was suffering from depression since a long time. At the time of his death, early stages of Parkinson's were found.
More than 560,000 people in Sweden over the age of 50 were reviewed by the researchers in 2005. The researchers compared the rate of Parkinson's in those who did and did not suffer from depression.
It was found that depression developed Parkinson's at a rate nearly three times that of the other study participants. The risk of Parkinson's was found to be higher in severe the depression.
The main finding was that approximately 1% of those who had suffered depression developed Parkinson's as compared with 0.4% of those who did not.
Carol Schramke, a clinical psychologist at Allegheny General Hospital who was not involved in the study, said this research emphasizes on previously known links between psychiatric and neurological disorders.
Ms. Schramke said, "These are the kinds of things I tell the residents and medical students. When a patient has depression or symptoms of depression, there could be other brain-related problems, Parkinson's perhaps but also Alzheimer's, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis involved".
Peter Nordstrom, one of the researchers who worked on the paper, said the data seems to show that depression is a cause of the disease However, those with depression should be careful to be monitored for early symptoms of Parkinson's.