Patients With Parkinson Disease Commonly Experience Anxiety-Related Limitations

Nearly half of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) who experience anxiety symptoms report anxiety-related activity limitations, which is associated with an increased likelihood of seeking treatment. These are the findings of a study presented at the 2025 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting, held from April 5 to 9, 2025, in San Diego, California, and published in the journal Neurology.

Anxiety is a common nonmotor symptom in PD; however, how anxious symptoms affect activity limitations and whether they affect treatment-seeking behaviors is not fully understood.

Researchers from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in the United States conducted this case-control study using questionnaire data from the Fox Insight Data Exploration Network. Patients (N=31,124) with PD who responded to a survey about symptoms of anxiety and related activity limitations and treatments were included in this study.

Nearly a third of patients (32.6%) reported symptoms of anxiety.

Among individuals with comorbid anxiety, 43.9% reported having activity limitations due to anxious symptoms.

Among individuals who reported anxiety-related activity limitations, nearly three-quarters (74.6%) reported receiving treatment for their anxiety.

Having a diagnosis of PD was associated with an increased likelihood of having comorbid anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 1.22; 95% CI, 1.12-1.32). Having PD and anxiety-related activity limitations was associated with an increased likelihood of seeking treatment for anxious symptoms (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.52-1.79).

This study was limited by relying on self-reported symptoms and treatment behaviors.

“Assessing anxiety severity in individuals with PD is important for treatment potential and understanding contributors to functional limitations of the disease,” the researchers concluded.