Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Aug 2023)
Parkinson’s Disease and Subjective Prospects for the Future in Different Life Domains. Findings of a Nationally Representative Sample
Abstract
André Hajek,1 Katharina Grupp,2 Ghazal Aarabi,3 Benedikt Kretzler,1 Hans-Helmut König1 1Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical-Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; 2Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; 3Department of Periodontics, Preventive and Restorative Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyCorrespondence: André Hajek, Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical-Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, 20246, Germany, Tel +49 40 7410 52877, Fax +49 40 7410 40261, Email [email protected]: To analyze the link between Parkinson’s disease and perceived prospects for the future.Patients and Methods: Data were taken from the German Ageing Survey (year 2021; n=4296 individuals, thereof 33 individuals with Parkinson’s disease) were used. This is a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling individuals ≥ 40 years in Germany. Perceived prospects for the future in different life domains (ie, living standard, health and general optimism) were used as outcomes. Physician-diagnosed Parkinson’s disease served as key independent variable . It was adjusted for several covariates.Results: Individuals with Parkinson’s disease had a markedly worse (Cohen’s d=0.65) general optimism compared to individuals without Parkinson’s disease. After adjusting for various factors, these differences disappeared in multiple linear regressions (β=− 0.04, p=0.72). Moreover, multiple ordered logistic regressions showed that individuals with Parkinson’s disease had a worse future self-rated health (OR: 4.10, 95% CI: 1.99– 8.47, p< 0.001) compared to individuals without Parkinson’s disease.Conclusion: Our study first showed that general optimism may be lower among individuals with Parkinson’s disease (bivariate analysis). However, this association disappeared when it was adjusted for health-related factors in regression analysis. In sum, our findings indicate that more general future-related factors did not significantly differ between individuals with and without Parkinson’s disease. However, there were significant differences in future self-rated health.Keywords: perceived longevity, outlook, optimism, health, living standard, Parkinson, Parkinson’s disease
