Problematic Internet use in Parkinson's disease

Abstract Background Problematic Internet use (PIU) has been associated with impulse control disorders (ICDs), and postulated to share characteristics of a behavioral addiction with both impulsive and compulsive features. However, Internet use has not been previously systematically studied in Parkinson's disease. Aim We explore Internet use in PD patients with and without ICDs and matched healthy controls. We hypothesize that the PD-ICD patients will spend more time on the Internet, accessing websites related to their ICDs, compared with PD patients without ICDs and healthy volunteers. Methods Our study is the first to systematically explore problematic Internet use in patients with PD, with and without ICDs. Twenty-nine PD patients with ICDs, twenty PD patients without ICDs and nineteen healthy controls were recruited. All participants endorsed using the Internet for non-essential purposes. They underwent a semi-structured interview and completed questionnaires including the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale adapted for Internet use (Y-BOCS-Internet). Results PD-ICD patients scored significantly higher on the Y-BOCS-Internet than the PD-control and HV groups (PD-ICD: 13.69; PD-control: 5.42; HV: 4.70; p p  = 0.0001), described significantly more effort to resist Internet use ( p  = 0.0002), thoughts about Internet use ( p p  = 0.0025). Discussion Our results suggest that PD patients with ICDs have a relative increased tendency towards excessive Internet use compared to those without ICDs and healthy controls. Clinicians should actively screen for excessive Internet use in patients with ICDs.