Objectives Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that often impedes activities of daily living (ADL) and social functioning. Impairment in these areas can alter social roles by interfering with employment status, household management, friendships, and other relationships. Understanding how PD affects social functioning can help clinicians choose management strategies that mitigate these changes. Methods We conducted a mixed‐methods systematic review of existing literature on social roles and social functioning in PD. A tailored search strategy in five databases identified 51 full‐text reports that fulfilled the inclusion criteria and passed the quality appraisal. We aggregated and analyzed the results from these studies and then created a narrative summary. Results Our review demonstrates how PD causes many people to withdraw from their accustomed social roles and experience deficits in corresponding activities. We describe how PD symptoms (eg, tremor, facial masking, and neuropsychiatric symptoms) interfere with relationships (eg, couple, friends, and family) and precipitate earlier departure from the workforce. Additionally, several studies demonstrated that conventional PD therapy has little positive effect on social role functioning. Conclusions Our report presents critical insight into how PD affects social functioning and gives direction to future studies and interventions (eg, couple counseling and recreational activities).

Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) have many known risk factors for suicide and suicidal ideation (SI). Despite this, there is limited understanding of suicidality in this population. We conducted a systematic review to synthesise the available literature on suicidality in PwP and highlight areas for potential intervention and further research. We identified 116 articles discussing SI, suicidal behaviours, suicide attempts and/or fatal suicide in PwP. These articles describe prevalence, suicide methods, risk factors for suicide and SI and treatment of suicidality. In this review, we summarise the current literature and provide suggestions for how clinicians can identify and treat PwP who are at risk for suicide, for example, through aggressive treatment of depression and improved screening for access to lethal means.

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Introduction In Parkinson's disease (PD), psychosis is associated with cognitive impairment that may be more profound in particular cognitive domains. Our goal was to determine whether psychosis in non‐demented PD participants is associated with domain‐specific cognitive impairment on the Mini‐Mental State Exam (MMSE). Methods The Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence Longitudinal Study at Johns Hopkins is a prospective study that was initiated in 1998. Clinical assessments are conducted at two‐year intervals at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. We analyzed data from 137 enrolled participants with idiopathic PD. Psychosis diagnoses were established by psychiatrist interview per DSM‐IV criteria. An incident dementia diagnosis resulted in exclusion from analysis for that evaluation and any future evaluations in that participant. We used logistic regression with generalized estimated equations (GEE) to model the time‐varying relationship between MMSE subscale scores and psychosis, adjusting for potential confounding variables identified through univariable analysis. Results Thirty‐one unique psychosis cases were recorded among non‐demented participants. Fifty total evaluations with psychosis present were analyzed. In multivariable regressions, psychosis was associated with lower scores on the orientation (relative odds ratio, rOR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.58–0.93; p = 0.011), language (rOR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.48–0.86; p = 0.003), and intersecting pentagon (rOR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.20–0.92 p = 0.030) subscales of the MMSE. Conclusions In PD, executive dysfunction, disorientation, and impaired language comprehension may be associated with psychosis. Our findings suggest that the corresponding MMSE subscales may be useful in identifying participants with a higher likelihood of developing psychosis. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background Psychosis is among the most disabling complications of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The chronicity of PD psychosis remains understudied and the relative importance of dopaminergic therapy versus the disease process itself in engendering psychosis remains unclear. Objectives To examine pharmacologic and motoric correlates of PD psychosis onset and remission in a longitudinally monitored PD cohort. Methods We analyzed data from 165 participants enrolled in a longitudinal PD study through the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. Evaluations included formal psychiatric assessment and were conducted at two-year intervals. Regression with generalized estimated equations (GEE) was used to produce unadjusted and adjusted estimates for time-varying longitudinal associations between psychosis and putative risk factors. Results Sixty-two participants (37.6%) were diagnosed with psychosis during at least one evaluation. Of forty-nine participants with psychosis followed over multiple evaluations, 13 (26.5%) demonstrated remission despite significant Hoehn & Yahr stage increase (p=0.009); two of these cases later relapsed. Multivariable regression with GEE identified dementia diagnosis, akinesia-rigidity, anticholinergic usage, and levodopa-carbidopa dose to be significantly associated with psychosis, while disease duration was not. A sub-analysis of 30 incident psychosis cases suggested that dopamine agonist dose was lowered after psychosis onset with a compensatory increase in levodopa-carbidopa dosage. Conclusions Our findings suggest that in the context of standard therapy, PD-related psychotic disorder can remit at a frequency of approximately 27%. Additionally, akinetic-rigid motor impairment was more strongly associated with psychosis than disease duration, independent of cognitive impairment and medications.

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