Anger in Patients with Parkinson Disease

This study addressed the question of whether Parkinson disease (PD) affects the expression or feeling of anger. The authors recruited 126 case patients from membership lists of PD support organizations from seven Spanish cities. They similarly recruited 126 neurologically normal controls from associations of retired people in these same seven cities. All were administered the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2), a validated measurement of anger, and the Tridimensional Depression Questionnaire, a validated measurement of aspects of depression.

Patients with PD scored lower than controls on all the measurements of anger, even after controlling for age, sex, and depressive symptoms. They felt less angry, held it in more, and calm…