Objective: To compare the effects of physical activity (PA) at home with and without remote supervision on the motor and non-motor aspects of daily life experiences of people living with Parkinson’s disease during the physical distancing due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The physical distancing, due to COVID 19 pandemic, causes an abrupt interruption in physical activity. The health services in all the world had to face the challenge to offer remote health to promote physical activity at home to avoid the general worsening of disease impairments. However, the efficacy of remote care is little known yet.

Method: 478 individuals with PD mean age of 67.6 years (SD=9.5), in stage 1 – 3 of disease evolution according to Hoehn and Yahr classification, living in 14 different cities representative of 5 different geoeconomic regions, participated in this study. Participants were asked to answer, through telephone interviews, a questionnaire about: (1) general information; (2) socio-economic status; (3) information associated with PD; (4) quality of life; (5) health conditions associated with COVID-19; (6) emotional health condition; (7) level of physical activity; (8) remote health care; (9) cognitive health conditions and (10) motor and non-motor aspects of daily life experience. Participants were divided into three groups, according to their self-reported physical activity at home: no PA group (NPA) (150 participants), PA with no-remote supervision group (PANS) (225 participants) and PA with remote supervision group (PAS) (103 participants). Comparison in motor and non-motor self-reported worsening between two groups was analyzed by ANOVA one-way.

Results: ANOVA showed a significant statistical difference between the groups for quality of life (F2, 475=3.57, p=.02, ES=0.78), but not for motor and non-motor aspects of daily life experience. The Tukey post-hoc confirmed that NPA reported more severe worsening in quality of life than PANS and PAS (p<.05).

Conclusion: The PA at home, regardless of remote supervision, reduced the self-reported worsening quality of life in people living with PD during the physical distancing. However, it is not able to alleviate the negative impact of interruption in health care on motor and non-motor alterations associated with PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/physical-activity-at-home-is-able-to-reduce-the-worsening-in-quality-of-life-in-parkinsons-disease-during-covid-19-pandemic/