Session Information
Date: Thursday, June 8, 2017
Session Title: Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical Trials, Pharmacology And Treatment
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Exhibit Hall C
Objective: Investigate the physical activity habits of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and healthy control (HC) participants of the PPMI cohort.
Background: Exercise can improve the motor symptoms of PD and reduce disability, but there are limited data on the physical activity habits of PD patients relative to healthy controls (HC). Further, longitudinal changes in activity levels have not been explored.
Methods: We investigated the physical activity habits of the Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) cohort, which enrolled age and gender matched HC (N=196) and de novo, at baseline un-medicated PD participants (N=423). Physical activity was assessed by the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), which measures leisure, household, and work-related activities. The scale was introduced into the study after study launch, so baseline scores are not available. PASE was therefore administered to participants at years 2, 3, and 4. Higher scores indicate more physical activity. T-tests were employed to compare PASE scores between PD and HC at each time point. Linear mixed models were used to calculate changes in PASE scores over time in PD and HC participants.
Results: PASE data were available for 174 HC and 380 PD participants. There were no significant differences in activity levels between PD and HC participants at any time point. Among PD participants, there was a significant decrease in physical activity over time: year 2 = 172.1 ± 100.8 (mean ± SD); year 3 = 162.9 ± 98.4; and year 4 = 158.0 ± 101.3 (p=0.009). There was no longitudinal change in PASE scores among HCs over the same interval (p=0.92).
Conclusions: Although there are no significant differences in physical activity habits between HC and early PD, activity levels decline over time in PD patients but not HC. These findings emphasize the importance of promoting exercise in PD. Additional study is needed to determine if activity levels predict disease progression.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
A. Amara, N. Seedorff, L. Chahine, K. Kieburtz, C. Caspell-Garcia, T. Simuni. Physical activity habits in early Parkinson’s disease and healthy controls [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2017; 32 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/physical-activity-habits-in-early-parkinsons-disease-and-healthy-controls/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2017 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/physical-activity-habits-in-early-parkinsons-disease-and-healthy-controls/