Depression May Lead to Parkinson’s Disease
Depression May Lead to Parkinson’s Disease – According to researchers from Umeå University in Sweden, depression may be an early symptom or a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease later in life.
Researchers followed the entire population of Sweden who were over the age of 50 by 2005 for two decades. They found that between 1987 and 2012, almost 140,000 were diagnosed with depression and when compared to those who did not have depression, they found that 1,485 had developed Parkinson’s disease. Only 0.4$ of the other group were diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
According to James Beck, vice president of scientific affairs at the US Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, who was not involved in the study, though there’s no direct cause and effect link here, depression and Parkinson’s seem to go together. Beck says that patients should seek treatment as soon as they see symptoms such as tremors and shaking, loss of smell, small handwriting, trouble sleeping, and moving and walking. There is no cure for PArkinson’s disease but early detection can help delay progression of the disease.
The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation estimates that 7 million to 10 million Americans.
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