There was a significantly higher percentage of both depression and anxiety disorder within individuals with afflicted family members, "The team found a 45% increased risk for depressive disorders and a 55% increased risk for anxiety disorders among the Parkinson's relatives," (Bakalar 2007). The newly published study found that an astounding fifty percent increase in both disorders when compared to family members without the disorder. Another surprising fact found through analyzing the data was that individuals had an even higher risk of exhibiting depression and anxiety disorder when their family member had been afflicted by Parkinson's disease earlier in life than when compared to those who were afflicted with the disease later in life. This study had proven the detrimental effects of the disease on all those involved in the situation.
The methodology used to analyze the data was appropriate for the desired results of the study. ANOVA not only gave real numbers, but also a method to transfer that into a workable percentage which can be compared to the larger population. ANOVA also allowed for the analysis of related data which further answered the researcher's inquiries concerning the higher risks of depression and anxiety disorder. The secondary conclusions concerning the higher rates of depression and the age in which the family member was afflicted with Parkinson's...
The data was transferred into percentages which showed the drastic increase in family member's risk of both depression and anxiety disorder. These percentages can be easily adapted to apply to the greater population of the United States.
This study goes beyond showing the higher risks of family members. This disease now shows that it is detrimental not only to those afflicted by it, but also those surrounding them as well. It gives researchers the data necessary to take precautionary steps to help those individuals who may be at higher risk of exhibiting signs of depression and anxiety disorder. Now that researchers have statistical data showing exactly how much more at risk this specific population is, methods can be taken in order to ensure proper diagnosis, treatment, and precautionary analysis of individuals with immediate family members afflicted with the terror which is Parkinson's disease.
Works Cited
Bakalar, Nicholas. (December 2007). "Patterns: Parkinson's Raises Risks of Depression
In Relatives."
Cohort.com. (2007). "ANOVA in CoStat (Including Experimental Designs, Unbalanced
Designs, Missing Values, Multiple Comparisons of Means, Planned Contrasts, and Orthogonal Contrasts). http://www.cohort.com/costatanova.html
