Factors Associated With Ambulatory Activity in De Novo Parkinson Disease.
Cory Christiansen, Charity Moore, Margaret Schenkman and 13 others
PMID 28263256WHAT IT FOUND
People with early Parkinson disease who were not on dopaminergic medication and were not regular exercisers averaged 5,362 ± 2,890 steps/day.
Higher step count was associated with higher fitness, no fear of falling, lower motor signs, recent diagnosis, and having a cardiovascular condition.
Key findings
01Average daily step count was 5,362 ± 2,890 steps/day among 113 participants with Parkinson disease who had ambulatory activity data.
02Five variables in the final model explained 24% of daily step count variability: cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 peak) 10%, fear or worry of falling 5%, motor examination score 4%, time since diagnosis 3%, and cardiovascular condition 2%.
03Higher step count was associated with higher VO2 peak, no fear or worry of falling, lower motor examination score, more recent diagnosis, and presence of cardiovascular condition.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional baseline data, so it cannot show that any factor caused lower step count or that changing it would help. The final model explained only 24% of step count variability, leaving most variability unexplained. 15 of 128 recruited participants did not have usable activity data because of collection errors, wear-time non-compliance, or withdrawal. The sample may not represent all people with de novo Parkinson disease because it came from an exercise trial, and very sedentary people may not have chosen to participate. Fear or worry of falling was measured by one self-report item, not by actual falls. The association between cardiovascular condition and greater step count was unexpected and cannot be interpreted from these data.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as proof that improving fitness or reducing fear of falling will increase steps. The study used baseline data before randomization and did not test an intervention, so it cannot show cause and effect.