Comparison of symptoms of bipolar disorder with Parkinson's patients, anxiety disorder patients and healthy controls

Objective: This study included patients with PD diagnosed according to the British Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank clinical diagnostic criteria in the general neurology outpatient clinic, patients diagnosed with anxiety according to DSM V in the psychiatry outpatient clinic, and healthy controls. There are publications indicating that Parkinson's disease symptoms are increased in patients with bipolar disorder and anxiety group before the onset of Parkinson's disease. However, the results of these publications, which were not controlled for depression, age, and different phenomenological features of bipolar disorder symptoms, are inconsistent. We investigated whether the symptoms seen in BD are frequently seen in PD by comparing them with anxiety disorders and healthy control groups. Materials and Methods: The study included 39 PD patients, 39 anxiety patients and 30 healthy controls. The study groups were matched for age, gender and years of education. Past diagnoses of depression, anxiety and dementia were excluded in the PD group. In the anxiety patients group, past depression and dementia diagnoses were excluded. Sociodemographic data of the study groups were evaluated with a sociodemographic data form. In addition, HAD scale was applied for anxiety and depression levels of the study groups. YMRS, BPRS, HY, NMSS and SCL-90 scales were applied for mental symptoms and nonmotor symptoms. Results: YMRS scores were higher in the PD group compared to the anxiety and healthy control groups. There was no difference between the groups in terms of HAD-D scores. There was no difference between PD and healthy controls in terms of HAD-A scores. In the PD group, a positive correlation was found between YMRS scores and NMSS. In the anxiety and healthy control groups, no relationship was found between YMRS scores and NMSS. In the PD group, a significant positive correlation was found between HAD-A and NMSS. The strength of this relationship was higher in the PD group than in the anxiety group. In the healthy control group, no relationship was found between CFS-A and NMSS. In the PD group, a moderate positive correlation was found between CFS-D and NMSS scores. There was a moderate positive correlation between HAD-A and HAD-D scores. In the PD group, a moderate positive correlation was found between HAD-D and SCL-90 scores. Somatization and obsessive-compulsive symptoms showed the strongest relationship between SCL-90 subscales and HAD-D. In PD, a positive correlation was found between YMRS scores and SCL-90 subscales of somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and paranoid ideation. The NMSS-somatization correlation was found to be moderately significant positive. No significant difference was found in the comparison of SCL-90 subgroups in PD and healthy control groups. However, OCD, CAD, anger and phobic anxiety scores were significantly higher in the anxiety group compared to the other groups. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that compares GAD symptoms in PD without a psychiatric diagnosis with those in anxiety patients without a past diagnosis of depression and healthy controls. The effects of GAD symptoms and nonmotor symptoms on psychological assessment measures were evaluated in all groups. GAD symptoms measured by the YMRS were found to be more associated with GAD symptoms in the PD group compared to healthy controls and the anxiety disorders group. Nonmotor symptoms were higher in the anxiety disorders and PD groups compared to healthy controls even when depression was controlled.