Uncertainty and depression in people with Parkinson's disease: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Adults with chronic disease may experience uncertainty and depression when coping with their illness. This study identifies degrees of uncertainty and depression, as well as factors associated with depression in people with Parkinson's disease. The 120 participants included patients who visited the neurology outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Seoul and individuals who attended public events managed by the Korean Parkinson's Disease Association. The mean age of the sample was 65.01 and 50.8% of patients were men. The mean scores of uncertainty and depression, measured using the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale and Short Form Geriatric Depression Scale were 99.03 and 6.73, respectively. Approximately 68% of participants scored above the cut-off score for depression. Multiple regression analyses showed that uncertainty, perceived health status, and fatigue were factors significantly associated with depression. Nurses should be aware of and address these factors and their effects in order to implement interventions to prevent depression in people with Parkinson's disease.

Relationships between depression, family function, physical symptoms, and illness uncertainty in female patients with chronic kidney disease

“…Kim and Ryu (2018) reported that anxiety about illness increases depression. Additionally, Ahn, Lee, Chu, and Sohn (2017) showed that uncertainty, perceived health status, and fatigue were factors significantly associated with depression in adults with chronic diseases. Based on these findings, disease-related uncertainty is a major factor that affects depression among patients with chronic diseases.…”

Fatigue in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…We considered appropriate for the present meta‐analysis the studies meeting the following criteria: (1) participants were adults diagnosed with idiopathic PD; (2) fatigue prevalence was reported; (3) fatigue was assessed by specific validated scales, reported in Friedman and colleagues' review, plus the more recently developed Scale for Evaluation of Neuropsychiatric Disorders in PD (SEND‐PD); and (4) samples were independent (for prospective study we used baseline data). We excluded studies if they: (1) included atypical PD or parkinsonian syndromes; (2) included only PD patients with dementia, psychosis, or mood fluctuations, and patients treated by deep brain stimulation or continuous intrajejunal infusion of levodopa‐carbidopa; (3) assessed fatigue only by means of a global nonmotor scale (such as Non‐Motor Symptom Assessment Scale [NMSS], or the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society revised UPDRS [MDS‐UPDRS]); and (4) did not adopt cut‐off points on specific fatigue rating scales …”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates

“…32 Uncertainty, especially economic uncertainty is associated with stress-related disorders and suicide. 2,23,33,34 It has been shown that uncertainty is a more stressful state to be in than really knowing something bad will happen. 35 Uncertainty is associated with depression and anxiety.…”

“…35 Uncertainty is associated with depression and anxiety. 33 In one research investigation, daily suicide data from England and Wales were matched to a daily economic policy uncertainty index over the period 2001-2015. 34 The authors found that a spike in daily economic uncertainty lead to an immediate impact on suicides which suggest that economic uncertainty may lead to an increase in the risk of suicide.…”