Demographic and Clinical Predictors of Trait Impulsivity in Parkinson's Disease Patients

BACKGROUND: Impulsive behaviour has become increasingly recognised as a neuropsychiatric complication of Parkinson's disease (PD). Thought to be a product of compromised cognitive control, the spectrum of impulsive behaviours in PD ranges from cognitive disinhibition to impulse control disorders (ICDs). OBJECTIVE: At present, there are no indicators for trait impulsivity in PD. The objective of the current study was to identify demographic and clinical predictors of susceptibility to trait impulsivity in a cohort of PD patients. METHODS: The current study assessed impulsivity using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 (BIS-11) in a cohort of 87 PD patients. General linear models (GLMs) were used to identify clinical and demographic variables predictive of heightened BIS-11 second-order attentional and nonplanning subscale scores. RESULTS: Male gender, no history of smoking, postsecondary education, and heightened disease severity were predictive of increased BIS-11 attentional scores (p < 0.05). Similarly, male gender, after secondary education, and disease severity were predictive of increased BIS-11 nonplanning scores (p < 0.05). Contrary to previous reports, dopaminergic medication use was not a significant determinant of either BIS-11 subscale scores. CONCLUSIONS: Several demographic and clinical variables including male gender, no history of past smoking, after secondary education, and elevated disease severity are associated with impulsivity in PD.