Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the motor and non-motor factors associated with walking capacity in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD).
Background: Walking over short distances in PwPD is characterized by decreased walking speed, reduced stride length, increased stride length variability and an increase in cadence. These abnormalities are thought to affect walking capacity in PwPD which is determined by the distance a person is able to walk over a longer period of time, often for 6 minutes, typically forth and back in a hallway known as the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) 1. Several motor and non-motor factors that are frequently presented in PwPD can affect their walking capacity. As yet, these factors are under-investigated.
Method: A total of 50 individuals with PD participated in this study. Walking capacity was measured using the six-minute walk distance (6MWD), whilst, Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-Part III was used to evaluate disease motor severity, the Berg Balance Scale to assess balance, the Montréal Cognitive Assessment to evaluate cognitive status, hospital anxiety scale, and hospital depression scale to assess depression and anxiety, The Modified Fatigue Impact scale to evaluate fatigue, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index to evaluate sleep quality. Stepwise multiple regression was used to identify the variables that predict the 6MWD.
Results: The present study showed that balance, disease motor severity, anxiety and age were significantly predictive of the 6MWT (R2= 0.61 P<0.000001)
Conclusion: The study concludes that walking capacity is multifactorial and that balance, motor severity, anxiety and age can potentially predict the performance in 6MWT in PwPD.
References: 1. Canning CG, Ada L, Johnson JJ, McWhirter S. Walking capacity in mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2006; 87(3): 371-5.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
H. Khalil, R. Rayhan, A. Al-Sharman, A. Aburub, K. El-Salem. The impact of motor and non-motor symptoms on walking capacity in people with Parkinson’ disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-impact-of-motor-and-non-motor-symptoms-on-walking-capacity-in-people-with-parkinson-disease/. Accessed May 18, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-impact-of-motor-and-non-motor-symptoms-on-walking-capacity-in-people-with-parkinson-disease/