Research Article

Stress Management Training (SMT) Improves Coping of Tremor-Boosting Psychosocial Stressors and Depression in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Controlled Prospective Study

Table 2

Characteristics of participants at baseline prior to SMT.

PD (n = 82)CON (n = 30) valueTest

Age [SD]66.3 [8.16]59.9 [15.8]0.041t‐test
Males (%)39 (47.6 %)12 (40 %)0.48Phi 0.067
BDI score [SD]19.55 [11.72]17.09 [10.99]0.319t‐test
PDQ-8 [SD]25.82 [16.35]5.77 (n = 24) [9.41]<0.0001t‐test
Warning signs for stress [SD]29.13 (n = 80) [17.51]29.31 (n = 29) [16.70]0.961t‐test
Stress-amplifying thoughts [SD]39.36 (n = 81) [22.72]39.52 (n = 29) [18.73]0.973t‐test
Disease duration (months) [SD]5.96 (n = 79) [0.51], range 1–23NANA
Disease severity (Hoehn and Yahr) [SD]2.15 (n = 79) [0.08], range 1–4NANA

Data are shown as means with standard deviation [SD]. Significantly different frequencies between groups as detected in an unpaired 2-tailed t-test with are labeled with an asterisk. “BDI”: Beck Depression Inventory [22, 23]; “PDQ-8”: Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire with 8 questions [24].