Objective: investigate whether fall-related activity avoidance differs between people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) versus cognitively unimpaired controls (CU) without any significant neurological disease.
Background: Although several studies have investigated fall-related activity avoidance in people with PD, there is limited knowledge of potential differences as compared with CU.
Method: This cross-sectional study included participants (CU, PD) that are part of Motor-ACT, which is a sub-study to the Swedish BioFINDER-2 study. Fall-related activity avoidance was assessed by using a dichotomous (no/yes) question and the modified Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (mSAFFE, scoring range 17-51, higher = worse). For comparisons between the two groups, Mann-Whitney U-test (mSAFFE) and chi-square test (dichotomous question) were used. Logistic regression analysis was also used with the dichotomous question as the dependent variable.
Results: This study included 49 people with PD (mean age 75.6 ±4.7, 33% women, 25% reported falls in the last 12 months) and 299 CU (mean age 77.7 ± 5.3, 61% women, 25% reported falls). The proportions that reported fall-related activity avoidance were as follows: 18% (CU) versus 37% (PD), p= 0.003. Logistic regression analyses showed that being in the PD cohort was associated with a higher odds of avoiding activities due to a perceived risk of falls (adjusted for age, sex, falls and cognitive function): Odds Ratio 2.7 (95% CI 1.2-5.8), p=0.013. Moreover, people with PD had worse (i.e., higher) mSAFFE scores, p<0.001. Their median (q1-3) score was 19 (18-23.5) versus 18 (17-19) for CU.
Conclusion: Despite having a similar proportion of history of falls, our findings indicate that fall-related activity avoidance is both more common and more pronounced among people with PD as compared to CU. This is important to consider when promoting physical activity and safe activity performance.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Lindh-Rengifo, E. Franzén, M. Landers, E. Stomrud, M. Nilsson. Does Fall-Related Activity Avoidance Differ between people with Parkinson’s disease versus Cognitively Unimpaired Controls? [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/does-fall-related-activity-avoidance-differ-between-people-with-parkinsons-disease-versus-cognitively-unimpaired-controls/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/does-fall-related-activity-avoidance-differ-between-people-with-parkinsons-disease-versus-cognitively-unimpaired-controls/