Kit Wu1, Marios Politis2, Sean S O'Sullivan3, Andrew D Lawrence4, Sarah Warsi5, Andrew Lees6, Paola Piccini5. 1. Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK. Electronic address: Kit.wu@imperial.ac.uk. 2. Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK; Neurodegeneration Imaging Group, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. 3. Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK; Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, University College London, WC1N 1PJ, UK. 4. School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT, UK. 5. Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK. 6. Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, University College London, WC1N 1PJ, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Problematic Internet use (PIU) has been associated with impulse control disorders (ICDs), and postulated to share characteristics of a behavioral addiction with both impulsive and compulsive features. However, Internet use has not been previously systematically studied in Parkinson's disease. AIM: We explore Internet use in PD patients with and without ICDs and matched healthy controls. We hypothesize that the PD-ICD patients will spend more time on the Internet, accessing websites related to their ICDs, compared with PD patients without ICDs and healthy volunteers. METHODS: Our study is the first to systematically explore problematic Internet use in patients with PD, with and without ICDs. Twenty-nine PD patients with ICDs, twenty PD patients without ICDs and nineteen healthy controls were recruited. All participants endorsed using the Internet for non-essential purposes. They underwent a semi-structured interview and completed questionnaires including the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale adapted for Internet use (Y-BOCS-Internet). RESULTS: PD-ICD patients scored significantly higher on the Y-BOCS-Internet than the PD-control and HV groups (PD-ICD: 13.69; PD-control: 5.42; HV: 4.70; p < 0.0001). Compared to PD controls and HV groups, the PD-ICD group spent more time on the Internet (p = 0.0001), described significantly more effort to resist Internet use (p = 0.0002), thoughts about Internet use (p < 0.0001) and its interference with their life functioning (p = 0.0025). DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that PD patients with ICDs have a relative increased tendency towards excessive Internet use compared to those without ICDs and healthy controls. Clinicians should actively screen for excessive Internet use in patients with ICDs.
BACKGROUND: Problematic Internet use (PIU) has been associated with impulse control disorders (ICDs), and postulated to share characteristics of a behavioral addiction with both impulsive and compulsive features. However, Internet use has not been previously systematically studied in Parkinson's disease. AIM: We explore Internet use in PD patients with and without ICDs and matched healthy controls. We hypothesize that the PD-ICD patients will spend more time on the Internet, accessing websites related to their ICDs, compared with PD patients without ICDs and healthy volunteers. METHODS: Our study is the first to systematically explore problematic Internet use in patients with PD, with and without ICDs. Twenty-nine PD patients with ICDs, twenty PD patients without ICDs and nineteen healthy controls were recruited. All participants endorsed using the Internet for non-essential purposes. They underwent a semi-structured interview and completed questionnaires including the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale adapted for Internet use (Y-BOCS-Internet). RESULTS: PD-ICD patients scored significantly higher on the Y-BOCS-Internet than the PD-control and HV groups (PD-ICD: 13.69; PD-control: 5.42; HV: 4.70; p < 0.0001). Compared to PD controls and HV groups, the PD-ICD group spent more time on the Internet (p = 0.0001), described significantly more effort to resist Internet use (p = 0.0002), thoughts about Internet use (p < 0.0001) and its interference with their life functioning (p = 0.0025). DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that PD patients with ICDs have a relative increased tendency towards excessive Internet use compared to those without ICDs and healthy controls. Clinicians should actively screen for excessive Internet use in patients with ICDs.
Authors: Antoine Bechara; Kent C Berridge; Warren K Bickel; Jose A Morón; Sidney B Williams; Jeffrey S Stein Journal: Psychol Sci Public Interest Date: 2019-10
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