Impulsive behavior and associated clinical variables in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative brain disorder accompanied by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the presence of motor and non-motor symptoms. OBJECTIVE We performed a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based analysis of impulsive behavior in our PD clinic population to assess prevalence and associated characteristics. RESULTS We found a higher prevalence of impulsive behavior (29.7%) than previously reported, and found multiple, concurrent impulsive behaviors in 26% of subjects reporting impulsive behavior. CONCLUSIONS Our findings contribute to the growing awareness of impulsive behavior in PD, and support the need for longitudinal studies to assess changes in impulsive behaviors in Parkinson's patients.