Objective: Stigmatization is the condition that occurs when a person has a characteristic that is generally regarded as negative by society. Stigmatization is frequently encountered in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson\'s Disease (PD). The aim of this study is to reveal where and how they see themselves in the society they live in by using the stigmatization scale in PD, to determine the extent and in which areas are stigmatization, and to investigate which features of the disease are associated with stigmatization.

Material and Method: Fifty patients with PD with a mean age of 66.24±8.63 years and 50 patients with non-neurological chronic diseases with a mean age of 63.42±5.41 were included in the study. Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) were applied to all patients. In addition, PD was evaluated with the Unified Parkinson\'s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Parkinson\'s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ).

Results: When the groups\' BAS, GDS, and SSCI scores were compared, it was found that all three scales were significantly higher in PD (p <0.05). The relationship between the demographic data of the patients in both groups, the duration of the disease, anxiety, depression and stigmatization were investigated. No correlation was found between age and disease duration in Parkinson\'s disease patients and SSCI (respectively; r =0.05 p >0.05 and r=0.24 p >0.05). In PD, while SSCI did not correlate with BAS (r =0.09 p >0.05), it coorelates with GDS score (r =0.44 p =0.031), UPDRS-2 (r=0.374 p =0.008), UPDRS-3 (r =0.30 p =0.029) and PDQ scores (r =0.39 p =0.005). In the group without neurological disease, no correlation was found between SSCI and age, disease duration, BAS, and GDS scores (p >0.05).

Conclusion: Our study shows that stigmatization is significantly higher in PD compared to the control group with chronic diseases, anxiety and especially depression accompany stigmatization, and quality of life decreases with this stigmatization. Early recognition of stigmatization and problems such as depression and social isolation in PD is as important as the treatment of motor symptoms.