Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38780969›Full record

ArticleJournal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology2025

Greater Apathy Associated With Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Use in Parkinson's Disease.

Rachel N Schade, Connor B Etheridge, Lauren E Kenney, Adrianna M Ratajska, Katie Rodriguez, Francesca V Lopez, Joshua Gertler, Alyssa Ray, Lauren Santos, Christopher Hess and 1 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Rachel N SchadeDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2887-4450
Connor B EtheridgeDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Lauren E KenneyDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Adrianna M RatajskaDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6637-430X
Katie RodriguezDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Francesca V LopezDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Joshua GertlerDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Alyssa RayDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Lauren SantosDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Christopher HessDepartment of Neurology, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida Health, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Dawn BowersDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.

Funding

Interdisciplinary Training in Movement Disorders and NeurorestorationT32NS082168 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI Melissa Jo Armstrong, David E Vaillancourt · 2015 to 2026
$2.8M
Clinical and Translational Predoctoral training in Alzheimers Disease and Related DementiasT32AG061892 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI PARAMITA CHAKRABARTY, JADA M LEWIS · 2018 to 2026
$1.8M
Brain Drivers, Cognition, and Parkinson's Disease: A Psychometric ApproachF31AG081047 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI KENNEY, LAUREN · 2023 to 2024
$62k
Cognition in Essential Tremor: A Neuroimaging and Biomarker StudyF31NS131000 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI RATAJSKA, ADRIANNA MARTA · 2023 to 2024
$58k
NIA NIH HHS F31 AG081047NIA NIH HHS T32 AG061892NINDS NIH HHS F31 NS131000NINDS NIH HHS T32 NS082168
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveApathy, a motivational disorder, is common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and often misdiagnosed as depression. Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been associated with increased apathy in adolescents and adults with depression. Based on observations that serotonin may downregulate dopaminergic systems, we examined the relationship between apathy and SSRI use in individuals with PD.

methodsMedications, mood/motivation scales, and clinical data were collected from a convenience sample of 400 individuals with PD. Depression and apathy were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-Il) and the Apathy Scale (AS). Antidepressant medications were grouped by mechanism type.

resultsOf the 400 PD patients, 26% were on SSRIs. On standard mood/motivation scales, 38% of the sample exceeded clinical cut-offs for apathy and 28% for depression. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that SSRIs were the only antidepressant that were significantly associated with higher apathy scores (β = .1,

conclusionThese findings suggest that use of SSRIs, but not other antidepressants, is associated with greater apathy in PD. Given the interactive relationship between serotonin and dopamine, the current findings highlight the importance of considering apathy when determining which antidepressants to prescribe to individuals with PD. Similarly, switching a SSRI for an alternative antidepressant in individuals with PD who are apathetic may be a potential treatment for apathy that needs further study.

Indexed as

ApathyParkinson DiseaseSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsAgedAged, 80 and overDepressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesSelective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitorsapathydopamineparkinson’s diseaseselective serotonin reuptake inhibitorsserotonin

Identifiers

PMID38780969
PMCPMC12626153

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.