Non-Motor Manifestations in Idiopathic Dystonia with Focal Onset - A Pilot Study

J Med Life. 2020 Apr-Jun;13(2):170-174. doi: 10.25122/jml-2020-0094.

Abstract

Recent studies emphasize an increased prevalence of non-motor symptoms in idiopathic dystonia with focal onset (IDFO), but their pathophysiological relationship is not clear. We aimed to identify the prevalence of depression and neurocognitive impairment in a group of patients with idiopathic dystonia with focal onset and their impact on the patients' quality of life. This study represents a component of an ongoing research project - GENDYS. From the database of this project, we selected 48 patients 56.62+/-14.16 years old who have been examined clinically and using specific scales: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (for depression), Montreal Cognitive Assessment - MoCA (for cognitive impairment), and a 5-degree analog scale for subjective perception of the severity of the disease. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study on patients with depression and cognition evaluated by the above-mentioned scales. We also performed a nested case-control analysis on 20 IDFO patients with and without at least moderate depression matched for age and gender; the cut-offs for depression were PHQ-9 score ≥10 and PHQ9 <5, for the depression group and the control group, respectively. The cut-off for MoCA was 26 points. 22 IDFO patients (46%) had depression; 54.5% of IDFO patients with depression had cognitive impairment, indicating a slight trend of increased cognitive impairment in those with depression compared to those without; the perception of the severity of disease was the greatest in patients with depression. Depression is more prevalent in patients with IDFO and is associated with a worse perception of the disease severity.

Keywords: Dystonia; cognitive impairment; depression; quality of life.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cognition
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Depression / epidemiology
  • Depression / psychology
  • Dystonic Disorders / physiopathology*
  • Dystonic Disorders / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pilot Projects
  • Prevalence
  • Quality of Life
  • Surveys and Questionnaires