A Comparison of Treatment-Seeking Behavioral Addiction Patients with and without Parkinson's Disease.

Anne Sauvaget,Roser Granero,Fernando Fernández-Aranda,Gemma Mestre-Bach,Samuel Bulteau,Marie Grall-Bronnec,Susana Jiménez-Murcia,Anders Hakansson,Pascal Derkinderen,Caroline Victorri-Vigneau,Jean M Vanelle,Trevor Steward,José M Menchón

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00214

Abstract

The administration of dopaminergic medication to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with addictive behaviors and impulse control disorders. Little is known, however, on how PD patients differ from other patients seeking treatments for behavioral addictions. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of behavioral addiction patients with and without PD. N = 2,460 treatment-seeking men diagnosed with a behavioral addiction were recruited from a university hospital. Sociodemographic, impulsivity [Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11)], and personality [Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R)] measures were taken upon admission to outpatient treatment. Patients in the PD group were older and had a higher prevalence of mood disorders than patients without PD. In terms of personality characteristics and impulsivity traits, PD patients appeared to present a more functional profile than PD-free patients with a behavioral addiction. Our results suggest that PD patients with a behavioral addiction could be more difficult to detect than their PD-free counterparts in behavioral addiction clinical setting due to their reduced levels of impulsivity and more standard personality traits. As a whole, this suggests that PD patients with a behavioral addiction may have different needs from PD-free behavioral addiction patients and that they could potentially benefit from targeted interventions.

Highlights

Researchers and clinicians have identified that the administration of dopaminergic medication to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with impulse control disorders (ICDs) [1]
Another study examining impulsivity traits in drugnaïve patients found that elevated levels of attentional impulsiveness scores in PD patients screening positive for ICDs, leading the authors to suggest that these patients may possesses a subclinical pattern characterized by a reduced ability to focus on the task at hand [9]
Higher incidence of anhedonia and higher levels of impulsivity traits have been found to coincide in patients with PD and an ICD, meaning that impairment of hedonic capacity coupled with higher impulsivity levels possibly might facilitate loss of control over reward-related behavior, thereby favoring the shift toward predominantly habit-based compulsive behaviors [11]

Summary

Introduction

Researchers and clinicians have identified that the administration of dopaminergic medication to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with impulse control disorders (ICDs) [1]. Higher incidence of anhedonia and higher levels of impulsivity traits have been found to coincide in patients with PD and an ICD, meaning that impairment of hedonic capacity coupled with higher impulsivity levels possibly might facilitate loss of control over reward-related behavior, thereby favoring the shift toward predominantly habit-based compulsive behaviors [11]. Both depression and anxiety symptoms have been found to be significantly correlated to impulsivity scores on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), indicating that PD patients with ICDs may be at higher risk for mood disorders [12]

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