Common condition that plagues 1 in 10 Brits could be an early sign of Parkinson’s – are you at risk?

HAVING anxiety could be an early sign of Parkinson’s, a new study suggests.

Researchers found over-50s with the mental health condition – which affects around one in 10 Brits – were twice as likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s than those without.

The authors said: “There was a two-fold increase in risk of Parkinson’s in patients with first presentation of anxiety aged above 50.

“The clinical features of those who developed Parkinson’s can help identify patients presenting with anxiety who are in the early stage of the condition.”

They hope their findings will lead to earlier diagnoses and better treatments.

To investigate the link, scientists at University College London used UK primary care data from 109,435 patients who had developed anxiety after the age of 50 and compared them to 878,256 matched controls who did not have anxiety between 2008 and 2018.

They then tracked the presence of Parkinson’s symptoms – such as sleep problems, depression, tremor and balance impairment – from the point of their anxiety diagnosis up until one year before the date of a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

The team found that the risk of developing Parkinson’s increased two-fold in people with anxiety, compared to the control group.

Symptoms like depression, sleep disturbance, fatigue, cognitive impairment, low blood pressure, tremor, rigidity, poor balance and constipation were also found to be risk factors for developing Parkinson’s in people with anxiety.

The results, published in the , were adjusted to account for age, sex, social deprivation, lifestyle factors, severe mental illness, head trauma and dementia.

Co-lead author Dr Juan Bazo Alvarez, from UCL’s Department of Epidemiology and Health, said: “Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative condition worldwide, and it is estimated that it will affect 14.2million people by 2040.

“Anxiety is known to be a feature of the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, but prior to our study, the prospective risk of Parkinson’s in those over the age of 50 with new-onset anxiety was unknown.

“By understanding that anxiety and the mentioned features are linked to a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease over the age of 50, we hope that we may be able to detect the condition earlier and help patients get the treatment they need.”

Parkinson’s disease is the world’s fastest growing neurodegenerative disorder and currently affects nearly 10million people across the globe.

The condition is a progressive disorder that is caused by the death of nerve cells in the part of the brain called the substantia nigra, which controls movement.

These nerve cells die or become impaired, losing the ability to produce an important chemical called dopamine, due to the build-up of a protein called alpha-synuclein.

Co-lead author Professor Anette Schrag, from UCL’s Queen Square Institute of Neurology, said: “Anxiety is not as well researched as other early indicators of Parkinson’s disease.

“Further research should explore how the early occurrence of anxiety relates to other early symptoms and to the underlying progression of Parkinson’s in its early stages.

“This may lead to better treatment of the condition in its earliest stages.”

Earlier this year, scientists at UCL revealed they had developed a simple blood test that uses artificial intelligence to predict Parkinson’s up to seven years before the onset of symptoms.