Research: Link Between Parkinson’s Disease And Neuroticism
Dr. Ricardo Alvarez | Last Updated : April 20, 2021Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects movements; its symptoms are not noticeable at first or are just Tremors, which is common. Parkinson’s disease can cause stiffness in various parts of the body and can also affect movements & Speech. Parkinson’s disease is not treatable at present but can be avoided if identified beforehand, and if the condition is worse, the doctors can recommend brain surgery that would improve the symptoms. Parkinson’s can be caused due to many factors like genes, life quality, etc., and it can affect functions like thinking, sleeping, chewing, and some other daily activities. People affected with Parkinson’s disease can experience changes in blood pressure, smell and can experience pain in some areas.
Research: Link Between Parkinson’s Disease And Neuroticism
Research recently conducted in the Florida State University College of Medicine found that someone with personality trait neuroticism has a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The research was published in Movement Disorders and was conducted under the surveillance of professor Geriatrics Antonio Terracciano.
The research found that the individuals who have scored more than 80% in the top quartile of neuroticism had more risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than the individuals who have scored less than 80%. Many clinicians believe that anxiety and depression are the results of Parkinson’s disease, but Terracciano says that there can be an emotional vulnerability that was present in the early stages of life and much before Parkinson’s disease was started to develop. Both the genders had the same effects on the research.
There were three more similar types of research that had smaller samples, but they matched the findings of Terracciano’s research. There are around 6 million people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease worldwide, i.e. 1% of all adults. This makes Parkinson’s disease the second most affected disease in the list of neurodegenerative diseases; Alzheimer’s tops the list.
It is not the first time that Neuroticism is linked to any disease, many types of research were conducted in which the researchers tried to link Neuroticism with diseases like Dementias and Alzheimer’s, But not many researches were conducted regarding the link between Neuroticism and Parkinson’s.
Terracciano also added that the individuals who scored more than 80% could have a poor quality of lifestyle, especially mental health; they are very prone to disease related to mental health such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Dementias etc. When coming to the relation between anxiety, depression etc., with Parkinson’s disease, The experts say that many people with Parkinson’s disease have anxiety issues, and they get depressed more often.
Parkinson’s disease could be held responsible for these issues because it alters brain functioning and affects emotions. Parkinson’s disease affects the motor and physical functions over time and damages the nerve cells in the brain, which ultimately causes a drop in dopamine levels. Dopamine is associated with reward, motivation, attention and memory.
The research team included Damaris Aschwanden, a post-doctoral researcher in the FSU dept., Angelina Sutin, a professor in the FSU and some researchers from the University of Montpellier in France.
Dr. Ricardo Alvarez was a former Medical professor and faculty at Harvard Medical school. After resigning, now he is practicing as a general physician who deals with the diagnosis and treatment of general health problems and disorders. He earned his MS and PhD from Columbia University. Ricardo Alvarez completed his undergraduate education from an accredited medical college under the University of London and completed his training from AMCAS and is a doctor with earned board certification.