Content area
Full Text
Correspondence to Thomas T Warner, Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N1PJ, UK; [email protected]
Introduction
Previous research estimates the lifetime prevalence of compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to be 2.7%. CSB has also been associated with male gender and earlier onset of PD.1 Although both dopamine agonists (DAs) and, to a lesser extent, levodopa have been associated with impulsive compulsive behaviours (ICBs),2 it is still unclear whether higher levodopa doses are a risk factor for the development of CSB in patients with PD.
Methods
Patients with ICBs were identified from a database of individuals with PD and ICBs who were seen at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK, and who had participated in three previous research projects over an 8-year period (from 2008 to 2016). All the ICB cases were recruited to research studies from PD clinics at the National Hospital and selected due to the reporting of ICBs. All cases underwent a thorough clinical investigation as well as a detailed semistructured interview conducted by one of the authors. Hospital notes were reviewed by a movement disorder specialist (PMB) for clinical and demographic data. Levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) was calculated according to previously published guidelines.3 Data were analysed using the software SPSS V.24.
Results
In total, 128 patients with PD and ICBs were identified. Seventeen cases were excluded because data on dopaminergic treatment when the ICB was most active were incomplete. The remaining 111 patients were included in the analysis. Nearly 75% of the patients were males. The average age of PD onset for the entire cohort was 46.3 years, mean PD duration 11.3 years and mean age at ICBs 56.9 years. DAs were used by 91% of the patients.
CSB was the most frequent ICB identified, present in 49.5% of the patients, followed by punding (43.2%), compulsive shopping (38.7%), pathological gambling (32.4%), dopamine dysregulation syndrome (24.3%) and compulsive eating (19.8%). Multiple ICBs were present in 69 patients (62.1%).
For statistical analysis, we divided the cohort into two groups based on the presence of CSB: CSB+ (n=55) and CSB