A pilot study evaluating the association between physical activity and cognition among individuals with Parkinson's disease.
Disabil Health J. 2017 Jun 1. Epub 2017 Jun 1. PMID: 28596093
Paul D Loprinzi
BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the association between daily physical activity and cognitive function among older adults with Parkinson's disease (PD).
OBJECTIVE: Here we evaluate the association between accelerometer-assessed physical activity and cognition among older patients with PD.
METHODS: Cognition assessed via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed via accelerometry over a 1-2 week monitoring period.
RESULTS: After adjusting for motor impairment severity, for every 1 min/day increase in MVPA, participants had a 0.09 unit increase in MoCA-determined cognitive function (β = 0.09; 95% CI: -0.003-0.19; P = 0.05). When further adjusting for motor impairment, age and gender, results were unchanged (β = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.004-0.19; P = 0.04).
CONCLUSION: The present study provides suggestive evidence of a favorable association between daily physical activity behavior and cognitive function among adults with PD.