Impact of Depression on Cognitive Function and Disease Severity in Idiopathic Cervical Dystonia Patients: One-Center Data in Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Cervical dystonia is a highly disabling hyperkinetic movement disorder with a lot of nonmotor symptoms. One symptom with a high prevalence is depression, which may negatively affect dystonia patients. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of depression on disease severity and cognitive functions in cervical dystonia patients. Methods: Patients with cervical dystonia were interviewed and divided into two groups, based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9: those with no depression or mild depressive features and those with moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression. The severity of dystonia and cognitive functions were assessed and compared in both groups. Results: A total of 52 patients were investigated. Self-assessment of the disease was more negative in clinically significant depressive signs group (p = 0.004), with a tendency for patients with clinically significant depressive features to have a slightly higher score on objective dystonia scales (TSUI and TWSTRS), but without statistically significant differences (p = 0.387 and p = 0.244, respectively). Although not statistically significant, a slightly higher MoCA scale score was registered in cervical dystonia patients with clinically insignificant depressive signs. There was a tendency for worse results in the abstraction category in patients with clinically significant depression (p = 0.056). Conclusions: Patients with clinically significant depression have a more negative self-assessment of the disease and perform worse in abstraction tasks.

Keywords

• cervical dystonia
• cognitive assessment
• depression