July 1, 2024 – Being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder later in life may mean up to a doubled risk of also getting Parkinson’s disease.
The latest findings from researchers in London were limited to people newly diagnosed with anxiety starting at age 50 or older, since the researchers did not look back at anxiety diagnoses earlier in life. The typical time between a new anxiety diagnosis and a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis was just under 5 years, according to theThe researchers analyzed health records for people who visited primary care clinics in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2018, all of whom were at least 50 years old.
The heightened risk of Parkinson’s disease among older people newly diagnosed with anxiety lasted even after the researchers adjusted their analysis for things including age, lifestyle, and having another mental illness.