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. 2017 May 22;12(5):e0176816.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176816. eCollection 2017.

No relevant association of kinematic gait parameters with Health-related Quality of Life in Parkinson's disease

Kristina Bettecken  1   2 , Felix Bernhard  1   2 , Jennifer Sartor  1   2 , Markus A Hobert  1   2 , Marc Hofmann  3 , Till Gladow  3   4 , Janet M T van Uem  1   2 , Inga Liepelt-Scarfone  1   2 , Walter Maetzler  1   2
Affiliations

No relevant association of kinematic gait parameters with Health-related Quality of Life in Parkinson's disease

Kristina Bettecken et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Health-related Quality of Life (HrQoL) is probably the most important outcome parameter for the evaluation and management of chronic diseases. As this parameter is subjective and prone to bias, there is an urgent need to identify objective surrogate markers. Gait velocity has been shown to be associated with HrQoL in numerous chronic diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). With the development and wide availability of simple-to-use wearable sensors and sophisticated gait algorithms, kinematic gait parameters may soon be implemented in clinical routine management. However, the association of such kinematic gait parameters with HrQoL in PD has not been assessed to date.

Methods: Kinematic gait parameters from a 20-meter walk from 43 PD patients were extracted using a validated wearable sensor system. They were compared with the Visual Analogue Scale of the Euro-Qol-5D (EQ-5D VAS) by performing a multiple regression analysis, with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model as a framework.

Results: Use of assistive gait equipment, but no kinematic gait parameter, was significantly associated with HrQoL.

Conclusion: The widely accepted concept of a positive association between gait velocity and HrQoL may, at least in PD, be driven by relatively independent parameters, such as assistive gait equipment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: Hasomed provided support in the form of salaries for authors MH and TG. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Block wise multivariate regression analysis for HrQoL using the ICF model as framework.
Block wise multivariate regression analysis for Health-related Quality of Life (HrQoL) assessment in Parkinson’s disease with consideration of International Classification of Functioning, disability and health (ICF)-relevant parameters, including kinematic gait parameters. Significant β-values are presented in bold. EQ-5D VAS, Visual Analogue Scale of the Euro-QoL-5D; adj. r2, adjusted regression coefficient for the entire model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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