Personality Characteristics of Depressed and Non-Depressed Patients With Parkinson’s Disease

Depression and a specific personality profile are often outlined as premorbid characteristics of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, few studies have explored possible relations between personality and depression in PD despite research in non-parkinsonian samples identifying specific personality traits as risk factors for depression. The personality profiles of 290 non-depressed and 119 depressed patients with PD were compared. The depressed patients were characterized by elevated neuroticism, reduced extroversion, and reduced conscientiousness and less convincing findings of reduced openness and agreeableness. The largest unique contribution to a regression analysis predicting depression was greater number of motor symptoms, increased neuroticism, and reduced extroversion.