Objective: To investigate the patterns of exercise in the daily lives of mild to severe PD patients.

Background: Despite the reported clinical impact of exercise in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), the exercise patterns or physical activity levels of PD patients have not been elucidated yet. We investigated the exercise patterns and physical activity levels in mild to severe PD patients.

Method: We enrolled PD patients at Samsung Medical Center from September 2019 to December 2019. Clinical characteristics, exercise patterns, and Physical Activity Scale of the Elderly (PASE) scores were collected and compared in the various stages of PD.

Results: Of a total of 263 PD patients, the mean exercise frequency and amount were 4.7 ± 2.1 times/week and 7.8 ± 6.7 hours/week, respectively. One-hundred-thirty-six (51.7%) patients did exercise of moderate to high intensity. Most of the patients did more than 2 kinds of exercise and the most common type of exercise performed was active walking (n=129, 49.0%). In category wise, home-based, solo exercise rather than facility-based or group exercise was popular. The moderate-to-severe PD (Hoehn Yahr [HY] stage 3 and 4) group exercised less than the mild PD group (HY stage 1 and 2), and mostly did low intensity exercises. The exercise frequency was not significantly different between the two groups. However, the mean total PASE score was lower in the moderate-to-severe PD group.

Conclusion: In our study, most PD patients were exercising properly in terms of intensity and amount. Our study would serve as a reference for clinicians to plan well-organized, practical exercise regimens for PD patients.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/characteristics-of-daily-exercise-patterns-in-various-stages-of-parkinsons-disease/