Lakkhina Troeung1, Natalie Gasson2, Sarah J Egan2. 1. School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia l.troeung@curtin.edu.au. 2. School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Comorbid psychiatric complications are a common occurrence in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the majority of people with PD experiencing mental health problems do not receive any professional treatment. METHOD: A total of 327 Australian adults with PD completed a cross-sectional survey examining patterns of mental health service utilization and predictors of willingness to seek future mental health treatment. RESULTS: Only 8% of participants were currently engaged in mental health treatment despite elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. The lifetime service use rate was also low at 24%. Logistic regression analysis showed that, second to prior treatment experience (odds ratio [OR] = 3.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.46-7.35), having had a discussion about psychological symptoms with a primary PD neurologist was the next most important predictor and tripled the likelihood of an individual being willing to seek future treatment, (OR = 3.01, 95% CI = 1.72-5.27). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the integral role of the PD neurologist in facilitating awareness and treatment of mental health problems for individuals with PD.
BACKGROUND: Comorbid psychiatric complications are a common occurrence in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the majority of people with PD experiencing mental health problems do not receive any professional treatment. METHOD: A total of 327 Australian adults with PD completed a cross-sectional survey examining patterns of mental health service utilization and predictors of willingness to seek future mental health treatment. RESULTS: Only 8% of participants were currently engaged in mental health treatment despite elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. The lifetime service use rate was also low at 24%. Logistic regression analysis showed that, second to prior treatment experience (odds ratio [OR] = 3.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.46-7.35), having had a discussion about psychological symptoms with a primary PD neurologist was the next most important predictor and tripled the likelihood of an individual being willing to seek future treatment, (OR = 3.01, 95% CI = 1.72-5.27). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the integral role of the PD neurologist in facilitating awareness and treatment of mental health problems for individuals with PD.
Authors: Danielle S Abraham; Thanh Phuong Pham Nguyen; Sean Hennessy; Shelly L Gray; Dawei Xie; Daniel Weintraub; Allison W Willis Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2020-05-18 Impact factor: 4.105