Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 1;45(4):266-272.
doi: 10.1097/NPT.0000000000000372.

Physical Activity and Perceived Health in People With Parkinson Disease During the First Wave of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study From Sweden

Breiffni Leavy  1 , Maria Hagströmer, David Moulaee Conradsson, Erika Franzén
Affiliations

Physical Activity and Perceived Health in People With Parkinson Disease During the First Wave of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study From Sweden

Breiffni Leavy et al. J Neurol Phys Ther. .

Abstract

Background: People with Parkinson disease (PD) are known to be at risk of physical inactivity and may therefore be especially vulnerable to negative health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic due to social distancing recommendations.

Purpose: To investigate sensor-derived physical activity and perceived health of people with PD during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the factors associated with these outcomes.

Methods: Physical activity was measured over 7 days using the Actigraph GT3x accelerometer. Data were collected regarding perceived health status and physical activity habits, as well as rehabilitation attendance during the pandemic. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with physical activity and perceived changes in health.

Results: Of 89 participants, a majority (67%) reported a pandemic-related reduction in exercise habits. Women more commonly reported a reduction in scheduled exercise and cancelled rehabilitation than men. Study participants took on average 5876 ± 3180 steps per day. In the multivariate analysis, female gender, being 70 years of age and older, and greater reported mobility problems were associated with being less physically active. A pandemic-induced deterioration in health was reported by 42% and women were 5 times more likely than men to do so (odds ratio: 5.12, 95% confidence interval, 1.87-15.03; P = 0.002).

Discussion and conclusions: Despite a pandemic-related reduction in reported exercise habits and rehabilitation, the participants in this Swedish sample were relatively physically active. However, women were less active at moderate-vigorous levels and were at greater risk of deterioration in perceived health during this time.Video Abstract available for more insight from the authors (see the Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A359).

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03213873.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Cilia R, Bonvegna S, Straccia G, et al. Effects of COVID-19 on Parkinson's disease clinical features: a community-based case-control study. Mov Disord. 2020;35(8):1287–1292. doi:10.1002/mds.28170.
    1. Herman C, Mayer K, Sarwal A. Scoping review of prevalence of neurologic comorbidities in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Neurology. 2020;95(2):77–84. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000009673.
    1. Fasano A, Elia AE, Dallocchio C, et al. Predictors of COVID-19 outcome in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2020;78:134–137. doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2020.08.012.
    1. Antonini A, Leta V, Teo J, Chaudhuri KR. Outcome of Parkinson's disease patients affected by COVID-19. Mov Disord. 2020;35(6):905–908. doi:10.1002/mds.28104.
    1. Zipprich HM, Teschner U, Witte OW, Schönenberg A, Prell T. Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and burden during the COVID-19 pandemic in people with Parkinson's disease in Germany. J Clin Med. 2020;9(6):1643. doi:10.3390/jcm9061643.

Publication types

Associated data