Anxiety Doubles Parkinson’s Risk

People over age 50 with anxiety have twice the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, with a hazard ratio of 2.1, according to an analysis of data from the United Kingdom collected from 2008 to 2018. Of the 109,435 individuals with anxiety included in the study, 331 (0.3%) developed Parkinson’s disease during the follow-up period, with an average of 4.9 years from the time they were diagnosed with anxiety to the time they developed Parkinson’s disease.

The incidence of developing Parkinson’s disease was 1.02 per 1,000 person-years for those with anxiety, while the incidence was 0.52 per 1,000 person-years for those without anxiety. In those with anxiety, the presence of depression, hypotension, tremor, rigidity, balance impairment, constipation, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and cognitive impairment were associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Females and those in the most deprived socioeconomic group were less likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

These findings were presented in “Risk of Parkinson’s disease in people aged ≥50 years with new-onset anxiety: a retrospective cohort study in UK primary care,” by Juan Carlos Bazo-Alvarez, Danielle Nimmons, Kate Walters, Irene Petersen, and Anette Schrag. The researchers analyzed primary care data collected from 2008 to 2018 for 109,435 individuals with anxiety to 878,256 without. The goal was to investigate the incidence of Parkinson’s disease in people with anxiety aged 50 years and older, and clinical features associated with later diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in people with anxiety.

For more information, contact: Juan Carlos Bazo-Alvarez, Centre for Ageing and Population Studies, Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, Gower Street, London, England; WC1E 6BT; Email: juan.alvarez.16@ucl.ac.uk; Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/epidemiology-health-care