Daily-Living Freezing of Gait as Quantified Using Wearables in People With Parkinson Disease: Comparison With Self-Report and Provocation Tests.
Diana Denk, Talia Herman, Demi Zoetewei and 9 others
PMID 36179090WHAT IT FOUND
Wearable monitoring of freezing of gait in daily life did not correlate with self-reported scores, but matched off-medication provoking tests.
This suggests questionnaires miss real-world frequency, while wearables capture objective data that clinics may not.
Key findings
01Freezing of gait measured by wearables during daily living showed no significant correlation with self-reported scores on the NFOG-Q or CFOG-Q questionnaires.
02Wearable-measured freezing during daily living correlated moderately with freezing observed during off-medication provoking tests, but not with on-medication tests.
03Turning tasks provoked the most freezing during supervised testing, yet the amount of freezing during turning did not correlate with daily-living wearable measures.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample size was small (28 participants), which increases the risk of missing true effects. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine how these measures change over time or with treatment. The wearable algorithm may miss certain types of freezing, such as the akinetic type. Participants used the monitoring system for a median of only about 4 hours per day, which limits the total amount of daily living data captured.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The funders played no role in the design, conduct, or reporting of the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a patient's self-reported freezing score accurately reflects their daily frequency. The study found no correlation between questionnaire scores and wearable monitoring, meaning patients may report a different burden of freezing than what is objectively measured in their home.