Mental health disorders and parkinsonism (mobility slowness, rigidity, rest tremor, gait instability) often co-exist. Approximately 40% of the 7-10 million people living with Parkinson's disease globally experience co-existent depression and/or anxiety. Furthermore, people treated with dopamine-blocking medications (antipsychotics, antiemetics) or those who suffer vascular, infectious, toxic, or structural brain insults may have symptoms of “secondary” parkinsonism.

To describe the existence of parkinsonism among Latino immigrants with behavioral health and substance abuse problems.

Data from the International Latino Partnership (ILRP) gathered at primary care clinics in Boston, Madrid, and Barcelona included 4 parkinsonism screening questions.

A total of 151 participants out of 567 (26.6%) screened positive for at least one parkinsonism question and 15 (2.6%) screened positive for all 4 questions. A small group of participants who screened positive for parkinsonism had co-existent schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and/or exposure to lithium or valproic acid. We found that age 50+, depression, and anxiety were more often associated with people having parkinsonism (P < 01). Gender, race, language, and educational level were not significant predictors of parkinsonism.

Parkinsonism and behavioral health disorders co-exist among Latino immigrants in the United States and Spain. This may be related in part to exposure to dopamine-blocking medications. Future studies should focus on early detection of mental health co-morbidities among Parkinson's disease patients as well as on prevention of “secondary” parkinsonism among people living with mental health disorders.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.