The Body Position Spatial Task, a Test of Whole-Body Spatial Cognition: Comparison Between Adults With and Without Parkinson Disease.
Jessica Battisto, Katharina V Echt, Steven L Wolf and 2 others
PMID 30317924WHAT IT FOUND
The Body Position Spatial Task did not distinguish adults with mild-moderate Parkinson disease from age-matched adults without Parkinson disease, although it was feasible and took 5 to 10 minutes.
Key findings
01The BPST did not distinguish adults with mild-moderate Parkinson disease from age-matched controls: groups did not significantly differ in BPST span or correct trials.
02The BPST was feasible and safe: no falls or injuries occurred, only two PD participants refused, and it took 5 to 10 minutes.
03In adults with Parkinson disease, BPST span and correct trials were related to other spatial, motor-cognitive, mobility, balance, and cognitive test scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study did not test whether BPST improves patient care or outcomes; it only measured correlations at one time. BPST did not distinguish mild-moderate Parkinson disease from age-matched controls, so it cannot be used as a diagnostic test for Parkinson disease. Not all participants completed every measure, and the PD correlation tables used 89 participants rather than the 91 enrolled, so some analyses have missing data. The PD and control groups differed in sex distribution and education, which may have influenced spatial test performance. No age, sex, or education norms for BPST were developed. BPST likely mixes egocentric and allocentric spatial strategies rather than measuring one cleanly. PD participants were tested ON medication at a self-selected optimal time, so performance may reflect medication state.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use the BPST as a screening test to tell whether someone has Parkinson disease. The groups with and without Parkinson disease did not differ significantly on BPST span or correct trials.