Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: Cross-sectional study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for the development of hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This crosssectional study included 180 consecutive, non-demented patients with PD. Out of them, 24 patients (13%) experienced some kind of hallucinations. Visual hallucinations were present in 22/24 (90%) subjects. Univariate logistic regression analysis has shown relationship between presence of hallucinations and the following variables: age of patients (p = 0.025), PD duration (p = 0.001), duration of levodopa treatment (p = 0.001), total daily dose of levodopa (p = 0.033), presence of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (p = 0.002) and their duration (p = 0.021), and experience of nightmares (p = 0.042). Hallucinations were also associated with higher scores of the UPDRS (p = 0.001), HDRS (p = 0.001) and the NPI total score (p = 0.001), and higher H-Y stages of the disease (p = 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis has demonstrated that the duration of PD (p = 0.024) as well as NPI total score (p = 0.002) was significant independent risk factors for hallucinations in PD. © Belgian Neurological Society 2012.