Mid-and long-term anxiety levels associated with presymptomatic testing of Huntington’s disease, Machado-Joseph disease, and familial amyloid polyneuropathy

Susana Lêdo*, Ângela Leite, Teresa Souto, Maria A. Dinis, Jorge Sequeiros

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To study anxiety as a variable of the mid- and long-term psychological impact of presymptomatic testing for three autosomal dominant late-onset disorders - Huntington’s disease (HD), Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) and familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) TTR V30M - in a Portuguese sample. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 203 participants: 170 (83.7%) underwent pre-symptomatic testing for FAP, 29 (14.3%) for HD, and 4 (2%) for MJD. Of the 203 participants, 73 (36.0%) were asymptomatic carriers, 29 (14.5%) were symptomatic carriers, 9 (4.5%) were diagnosed with FAP and had a liver transplant, and 89 (44.5%) were non-carriers. Most were women (58.1%) and married (66.5%). The anxiety variable was assessed using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Results: The anxiety scores were higher for symptomatic carriers and for those who underwent psychological support consultations over the years. For symptomatic carriers, the mean scores were superior to 40 points, which reflects clinical anxiety. Conclusion: Although it was not possible to differentiate between the mid- and long-term psychological impacts, this study supports the conclusion that the proximity to the age of symptoms onset might be a trigger for anxiety.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)113-120
Number of pages8
JournalRevista Brasileira de Psiquiatria
Volume38
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Anxiety
  • Middle-and long-term impact
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Pre-symptomatic testing
  • Psychology

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