Objective: To describe duration and intensity-based exercise groups in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Background: Evidence suggests that regular exercise slows functional decline in individuals with PD. There are limited data characterizing the impact of exercise intensity. The PF-QII dataset’s recent inclusion of exercise duration and intensity data enables further exploration.

Method: All individuals with PD enrolled in the PF-QII registry with at least one New Data Collection Form were used to identify participants’ exercise characteristics. Participants were first grouped by exercise duration (0hrs/wk, <2.5hrs/wk, ≧2.5hrs/wk). A second grouping used K-means clustering with individuals’ self-reported exercise intensity. Analysis of variance and Chi-squared tests were used to compare participants’ characteristics across groups.

Results: A total of 5,203 participants were included in analysis. The K-means cluster analysis identified four distinct intensity-based groups: Almost-none, Light-dominant, Moderate-dominant, and Vigorous-dominant. Light-dominant participants had greater exercise duration (24±10 hrs/wk) compared to Moderate- and Vigorous-dominant (both 8±4 hrs/wk). Participants in both Vigorous-dominant and Duration Category ≧2.5hrs/wk were more likely to be male, younger, better educated, and newly diagnosed, with fewer comorbidities, and better disease status (p<0.0001). After controlling for age, Hoehn &Yahr stage, years since diagnosis, and cognitive status, both duration and intensity groupings showed a significant correlation of improved scores on The Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) and Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) in high exercise groups compared to low exercise groups (p<0.05). No significant correlation was found between exercise grouping and hospitalization/ER visits, fall frequency, motor fluctuations, or dyskinesias.

Conclusion: Grouping exercisers with PD by intensity in addition to duration of exercise provides valuable insight into the differences between exercise categories. Next steps include longitudinal analyses of change in outcomes related to exercise intensity group.

References: Abstract to be presented at: Parkinson’s Study Group Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ April 2019, and American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA May 2019

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/intensity-based-exercise-groupings-in-parkinsons-disease-analysis-from-the-parkinsons-foundation-quality-improvement-initiative-pf-qii/