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New-Onset Anxiety Increases PD Risk in Adults 50 and Older
The risk of developing Parkinson disease (PD) is doubled in adults 50 and older with new-onset anxiety compared with those without anxiety, according to a study published in the British Journal of General Practice.
“The results suggest that there is a strong association between anxiety and later diagnosis of PD in patients aged >50 years who present with a new diagnosis of anxiety,” wrote first author Juan Carlos Bazo-Alvarez, PhD, and coauthors from University College London, London, England.
The retrospective cohort study used a large UK primary care dataset to investigate the incidence of PD in people 50 and older with and without new-onset anxiety between 2008 and 2018. Patients with anxiety were matched with four unexposed patients based on age and sex. The study included 109,435 patients with a first episode of anxiety and 878,256 patients without anxiety.
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Some 331 adults with new-onset anxiety developed PD over follow-up. The time from the first episode of anxiety to PD diagnosis was a median 4.9 years, according to the study. The incidence of PD per 1000 person–years in adults with anxiety was 1.02 compared with 0.49 in adults without anxiety.
After adjustment for age, sex, social deprivation, lifestyle factors, severe mental illness, head trauma, and dementia, the hazard ratio (HR) for PD was 2.1 in people with anxiety,” the study found. Risk factors for developing PD in people with anxiety were tremor (HR 21.3), rigidity (HR 5.1), balance impairment (HR 4.2), hypotension (HR 4.0), constipation (HR 2.6), sleep disturbance (HR 2.2), fatigue (HR 1.8), cognitive impairment (HR 1.8), and depression (HR 1.7).
“Further research should explore anxiety in relation to other prodromal symptoms and how this symptom complex is associated with the incidence of PD,” researchers wrote. “This may lead to earlier diagnosis and better management of PD.”
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