Objective: To correlate respiratory capacity with physical function in elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: As occurs in other neurodegenerative diseases, it is necessary to know the process of impairment on respiratory function and functionality in PD (1). Ventilatory problems are directly associated with reduced levels of physical activity and exercise, generating a cycle of negative outcomes (2).

Method: A cross-sectional study with individuals participating in an association for people with PD in the city of Curitiba-PR – Brazil. Inclusion criteria: people and both sexes, with more than 60 years and diagnosis of PD. Exclusion: any pulmonary or cardiac diagnosis. The variables were the 6-minute walk test measured in meters and average speed, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and derived from spirometry: forced vital capacity (FVC); Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and Maximum voluntary ventilation (VVM) in a percentage of expected. In addition, the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale was evaluated. Spearman’s correlation was used.

Results: The descriptive data are presented in Table 1. We evaluated 36 participants, following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We observed an inversely correlation between TC6 distance and HY, TC6 velocity and HY, age and VCF, age and FEV1, age and TC6 distance, age and TC6 velocity, and directly proportional between IPAQ and TC6 distance and velocity. The correlation coefficients can be observed in Table 2.

Conclusion: Activity and performance were related, as well as age and severity of the disease by HY. These findings demonstrate that interventions that associate performance and physical functionality, including pulmonary function, can bring benefits to people with PD, especially older and more advanced stages.

References: 1- WANG, Z.; GUO, Y.; MYERS, K. G.; HEINTZ, R.; HOLSCHNEIDER, D. P. Recruitment of the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum in Parkinsonian rats following skilled aerobic exercise. Neurobiol Dis. v. 77, p. 71-87, May, 2015. 2- THOMÉ, J. S.; OLMEDO, L.; SANTOS, F. M.; MAGNANI, K. L.; MÜLLER, P. T., CHRISTOFOLETTI, G. Pacientes com doença de Parkinson sob assistência fisioterapêutica apresentam parâmetros pulmonares melhores do que controles sedentários. Fisioter. pesqui. v. 23, n.1, p.30-37, jan.-mar. 2016.

« Back to 2019 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/parkinsons-disease-respiratory-capacity-and-functionality-a-physical-therapy-perspective/