Depression and Financial Capacity Assessment in Parkinson's Disease with Dementia: Overlooking an Important Factor?

Depression affects cognitive abilities, such as thinking, concentration and making decisions in both young adults and elders. However, financial capacity (which consists of multiple cognitive domains and specific skills) and depression in Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) are little investigated. Sixty participants divided into four groups (PDD with and without depressive symptoms, non-demented elders with and without depression) were examined with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and the Legal Capacity for Property Law Transactions Assessment Scale (LCPLTAS) - full and short form. Results indicated that PDD patients' performance in cognitive functioning and financial capacity is severely impaired, while there is a statistically significant difference between depressed and non-depressed PDD patients. Differences in financial capacity performance indicate that depression should not be disregarded. Further studies on larger PDD population are necessary in order to investigate the decisive role of depression on financial capacity impairment.