Clinical correlates of anhedonia in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and clinical correlates of anhedonia in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to also examine the relationship between anhedonia and the QOL.

Methods: One hundred and seventeen patients with PD completed the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II), Starkstein's Apathy Scale (AS) and a quality of life (QOL) battery. Hoehn and Yahr (HY) staging, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were administered on the same day.

Results: Anhedonia (SHAPS score≥3) was diagnosed in 15% of the patients. The SHAPS score was found to be significantly correlated with the HY stage and the UPDRS (I, IVB, IVC, total), BDI-II, AS and STAI (State, Trait) scores. A multivariate analysis revealed that the BDI-II and STAI (Trait) scores significantly influenced the SHAPS scores. The SHAPS scores were found to be negatively correlated with the QOL.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that anhedonia is associated with depression and anxiety. In addition, recognizing anhedonia in patients with PD is important since it may have a negative effect on the QOL.

Keywords: Anhedonia; Anxiety; Depression; Parkinson's disease; QOL.