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The correlation of depression with functional activity
in Parkinson's disease.
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We evaluated 109 Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in three
ways: using a standardized psychiatric interview for depression and
anxiety, using standardized neurological evaluation for motor disability,
and using cognitive assessment for cognitive impairment.

Six of the 109 patients who had dementia and another two afflicted with
organic delusional disorder were excluded from further analysis.

The remaining 101 PD patients were divided into the following three groups
according to the DSM-III-R criteria: major depressive disorder (n = 18),
other depressive disorders (n = 25) including dysthymic disorder and
depressive disorder not otherwise specified, and no depression (n = 58).

The frequency of major depressive disorder of the 109 PD patients was
16.5%, and the frequency of major and other depressive disorders, taken
together, was 42.2%.

Using the percentage points measured on the Schwab & England Activities of
Daily Living Scale as the dependent variable to fit a multivariate
regression model, we found the lower score significantly correlated with
the diagnosis of depressive disorder and higher score of the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale, in addition to motor disability and disease
severity of PD.

Given the high frequency of depression and the significant correlation
between depression and performance in daily functional activites, we
believe that an evaluation of PD patients for coexisting depression is
necessary for a better therapeutic outcome.


J Neurol 1997 Aug;244(8):493-498
Liu CY, Wang SJ, Fuh JL, Lin CH, Yang YY, Liu HC
Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
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PMID: 9309555, MUID: 97455172
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janet paterson - 50/9 - sinemet/selegiline/prozac - [log in to unmask]