Background. Impulse control disorders in Parkinsonâ??s disease (PD) represent emerging problems with potentially devastating\nconsequences. The standard screening methods for impulse control disorders are clinically imperfect. Although it is rarely\nreported, many patients utilize the Internet to fulfill their compulsive behaviors because of its easy accessibility. We designed a\nstudy to test the hypothesis that an active screening for excessive Internet use and Internet addiction might improve the\nsensitivity of identification of impulse control disorders. Methods. The standard screening method included the Questionnaire\nfor Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinsonâ??s Disease and the modified Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview. In the\nsecond round, the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire was also assessed for detecting excessive Internet use. Results. While\nthe standard approach identified 19 patients out of 106 (17.9%) with any type of impulse control disorders, screening for the\nproblematic Internet use detected 29 patients with impulse control disorders (27.4%) having significantly better efficacy over the\nstandard method (p= 0.004, the McNemar test). Conclusions. Our study suggests that the screening for problematic Internet use\nby the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire is an effective, feasible, and easy-to-use add-on method for identifying PD\npatients with impulse control disorders more efficiently and probably at earlier stages.
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