Drivers of change in physical activity over 18 months in incident Parkinson’s disease

Barry, Gillian, Lord, Sue, Galna, Brook, Burn, David and Rochester, Lynn (2014) Drivers of change in physical activity over 18 months in incident Parkinson’s disease. In: International Society of Posture and Gait Research World Congress, 29th June - 3rd July 2014, Vancouver, Canada.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Physical activity (PA) is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Beneficial effects of activity have been reported for people with Parkinson's disease (PD), and there is evidence to suggest it may be neuroprotective. Most people with PD do not achieve the recommended levels of PA, although the reasons for this are unclear [1]. It is important to understand the drivers of PA especially in the early stages of the disease before the secondary effects of PD are established. The aim of this study was to examine change in PA over 18 months in an incident cohort of PD and to identify possible drivers of PA.

METHODS: For this preliminary analysis 35 people with PD [mean (SD) age 67.4 (10.4) years; 14 females; UPDRS III 23(10)] were recruited through an ongoing longitudinal study (ICICLE-PD). PA was measured for 7 days at baseline and 18 months, using a uniaxial accelerometer (ActivPal TM1,10Hz). PA outcomes included: 1) pattern of accumulation of activity (alpha); 2) number of steps accumulated in walking bouts of <20 steps (short), 20-100 steps (moderate) and > 100 steps (long); and 3) variability of stepping bout duration. A range of cognitive, motor, affective and quality of life outcomes were measured, including PD questionnaire (PDQ), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), UPDRSIII and the Activities Balance Self- Confidence Scale (ABC). Multiple regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of change in PA.

RESULTS: At 18 months, there was a non-significant trend for people with PD to accumulate more steps in shorter bouts and fewer in longer bouts. Results from multiple regression showed that younger age, less severe PDQ stigma and lower PDQ mobility scores were independent predictors of a decrease in the number of steps accumulated in long bouts (F (5, 34) = 7.00, p < 0.001), with the model explaining 47% of the variance. In addition, more severe PDQ stigma and mobility scores were independent predictors of a decrease in steps accumulated in moderate bouts, total time spent walking and alpha. Post-hoc analysis showed these findings were independent of change in working status and medication. There were no significant independent predictors of change in variability of bout duration or number of steps accumulated in short bouts.

CONCLUSION: Age, stigma and mobility are significant drivers of change in PA in early PD. This behavioural change reflects an early response to PD, even in those whose levels of physical activity should arguably be least affected. Future analysis will be performed on a larger cohort and compared with aged-matched controls to gain a greater understanding of the motor and non-motor drivers of PA in PD.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Subjects:	B900 Others in Subjects allied to Medicine
Department:	Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation
Depositing User:	Paul Burns
Date Deposited:	12 Dec 2014 15:49
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 16:26
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/18488

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