Objective: To assess lifestyle changes after PD diagnosis and their relationship with clinical and demographic factors.

Background: In recent years, the management of Parkinson’s disease (PD) has increasingly incorporated non-pharmacological strategies such as physical exercise, dietary modifications, and psychosocial interventions. However, the extent to which patients adopt lifestyle changes after diagnosis remains insufficiently characterized.

Method: A cross-sectional study of patients with PD at a tertiary care center evaluated post-diagnosis changes in physical activity, diet, and emotional coping using a structured questionnaire.

Results: Thirty-four patients were included (mean age 69.6 ± 7.3 years), with balanced sex distribution. Most participants (76.5%) had more than three years of disease duration and 64.7% had tertiary or university education. After diagnosis, 52.9% reported increased physical activity, with a median frequency of three days per week. Dietary modifications were reported by 41.2% of participants, most commonly adopting Mediterranean or protein-adjusted diets. Additionally, 50% reported implementing changes in emotional coping or stress-management strategies. No significant differences were observed according to age, sex, or disease duration. However, emotional coping changes were significantly associated with a positive self-perceived impact on quality of life (p = 0.01). Overall, 57.7% of participants reported that lifestyle changes had a positive impact on their daily life.

Conclusion: More than half of patients with PD reported positive lifestyle modifications following diagnosis, particularly in physical activity and emotional health strategies. These changes were associated with improved perceived quality of life, highlighting the importance of patient-centered, holistic interventions in PD management.

References: 1. Sperens M, Gard G, Unnebrink K, et al. Activities of daily living in Parkinson’s disease: Time/gender perspective. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 2020;141(2):168–176. doi:10.1111/ane.13189.
2. Crispino P, Gino M, Barbagelata E, et al. Gender differences and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;18(1):198. doi:10.3390/ijerph18010198.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/lifestyle-changes-after-parkinsons-disease-diagnosis-associations-with-age-sex-disease-duration-and-self-perceived-quality-of-life/