Psychological well-being of individuals with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers: A one-year follow-up study of patient-caregiver dyads

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorders, and its caregivers often experience a significant burden. This prospective study aimed to assess the dyadic dynamics of depression and anxiety severity in patients with PD and their caregivers, as well as changes in severity over a one-year follow-up period. Methods: We recruited 181 patients with PD and their respective caregivers from a medical center. Psychological well-being was assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). We examined trends in depression and anxiety within PD patient-caregiver dyads and identified associated factors over the one-year follow-up. Results: A total of 101 patients with PD and 101 caregivers completed the study. Patients had significantly higher HAM-D and HAM-A scores than their caregivers. Additionally, both patients and caregivers exhibited a significant increase in HAM-D scores at the one-year follow-up compared to baseline. Female gender and a history of suicide among caregivers of patients with PD were associated with greater severity of caregiver anxiety. Additionally, the use of anxiolytics and hypnotics by caregivers was associated with increased severity of both depression and anxiety. Furthermore, patients' HAM-D scores were significantly correlated with caregivers' depression severity. Conclusions: Over the course of one year, depression severity worsened in both patients with PD and their caregivers. The severity of patients' depression was closely linked to that of their caregivers, highlighting the importance of addressing and managing dyadic interactions to prevent mutual worsening of depression and anxiety.