Statistical Procedures the Study Conducted

Statistical Procedures

The study conducted by Nicholas Bakalar in 2007 was done so to test his hypothesis that relatives of people with Parkinson's disease have a higher tendency to fall into the risk of depression and high anxiety. Bakalar wanted to see exactly how high the risk of depression for this specific population was in comparison with a normal population. He used Analysis of Variance model (ANOVA) to compare the experiment group with a control group in order to test his hypothesis. What he found through using this method was a higher percentage of depression and anxiety disorder within the population who were first-relatives to individuals with Parkinson's disease, and lower percentages of normal family members without a history of the disease within their family tree. The method used by Bakalar was appropriate for the style of test he commenced and the type of data which he collected.

ANOVA, or the Analysis of Variants, is used mainly when testing comparisons. Not only does it measure specific comparisons between groups, but it also gives statistical data which can be transferred into usable percentages which can be easily compared. The two variables in this case were individuals with close family ties to those afflicted with Parkinson's disease, compared to individuals with no family history of the disease. Bakalar and his team of researchers focused on one hundred and sixty-two individuals with the disease and examined the mental state of one thousand immediate family members. The control group was eight hundred immediate family members of one hundred and forty-seven individuals without the disease. By comparing the real numbers of the family members with depression of both individuals with the disease and without, percentages could be drawn to describe the higher risk of depression found in families with a member afflicted by Parkinson's. This percentage was calculated through comparing the numbers of depressed and anxious family members in comparison to the opposite group. The control group was relatively smaller than the experiment group, and ANOVA could substitute for the missing variables in order to complete the experiment. ANOVA also allows for the examination of different facets of data which all relate to the larger hypothesis, (Cohort.com 2007). The method allows researchers to answer a number of questions and is not limited to one specific hypothesis or theory. This proved important in the secondary findings of the 2007 study.

What Bakalar and his team discovered through analysis of the data collected was a higher risk of depression and anxiety disorders within individuals who had family members afflicted with Parkinson's. After analyzing all the data, researchers found their hypothesis to be true. There was a significantly higher percentage of both depression and anxiety disorder within individuals with afflicted family members, "The team found a 45% increased risk for depressive disorders and a 55% increased risk for anxiety disorders among the Parkinson's relatives," (Bakalar 2007). The newly published study found that an astounding fifty percent increase in both disorders when compared to family members without the disorder. Another surprising fact found through analyzing the data was that individuals had an even higher risk of exhibiting depression and anxiety disorder when their family member had been afflicted by Parkinson's disease earlier in life than when compared to those who were afflicted with the disease later in life. This study had proven the detrimental effects of the disease on all those involved in the situation.

The methodology used to analyze the data was appropriate for the desired results of the study. ANOVA not only gave real numbers, but also a method to transfer that into a workable percentage which can be compared to the larger population. ANOVA also allowed for the analysis of related data which further answered the researcher's inquiries concerning the higher risks of depression and anxiety disorder. The secondary conclusions concerning the higher rates of depression and the age in which the family member was afflicted with Parkinson's disease was a product of the all around analysis of data through the ANOVA method. The data was transferred into percentages which showed the drastic increase in family member's risk of both depression and anxiety disorder. These percentages can be easily adapted to apply to the greater population of the United States.