Objective: We sought to examine the relationship between the characteristics of Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence (COE)-based and community-based exercise classes and the self-reported hours of exercise and physical activity (PA) among people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) at these COEs. The goal is to determine which characteristics correlate with higher exercise and PA hours so that we can use this information to inform the implementation of exercise programs at and near COEs.

Background: Despite growing evidence on the benefits of exercise in PD, people with PD often exercise less than recommended.

Method: Parkinson’s Outcome Project (POP) data was used from 3146 people with PD at 19 participating COEs. POP data included self-reported light PA hours, moderate-vigorous exercise (MVE) hours, demographic and disease severity variables. We also collected information about frequency, intensity, cost, and geographic distribution (operationalized as distance from COE in miles and variability in location) of COE-based and community-based exercise classes. We examined differences between COE-based and community-based exercise classes using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. We tested associations between class characteristics and exercise hours based on two-part models: logistic regression on whether a participant had light PA or MVE and linear regression for log-transformed time of exercise.

Results: Community-based exercise classes, when compared to COE-based classes, have a significantly higher frequency of classes offered per week (24.5±11.5 vs 5.5±6, p<0.001), as well as a higher percentage of vigorous-intensity classes (24.2±18.3 vs 6.9±12.7, p<0.001), and a broader geographic distribution (miles: 12.8±4.6 vs 4.6±5.6, p<0.0001; variability: 5.5±2.1 vs 1.6±2.8, p<0.001). Increases in frequency of all classes, the proportion of high-intensity classes, and broader geographic distribution of classes were associated with more MVE hours and light PA hours reported by POP participants (all: p<0.01). Of these, total amount of classes offered per week explained the most variability in the reported hours of exercise.

Conclusion: To maximize benefits on exercise amounts, it may be helpful for Parkinson’s COEs to focus on facilitating a large number of exercise classes, with high class frequencies, higher class exercise intensity levels, and broader geographic distribution.

References: [1] Goodwin, V.A., et al., The effectiveness of exercise interventions for people with Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. 2008. 23(5): p. 631-640. [2] Oguh, O., et al., Back to the basics: regular exercise matters in Parkinson’s disease: results from the National Parkinson Foundation QII registry study. 2014. 20(11): p. 1221-1225. [3] Petzinger, G.M., et al., Enhancing neuroplasticity in the basal ganglia: the role of exercise in Parkinson’s disease. 2010. 25(S1): p. S141-S145. [4] Rafferty, M.R., et al., Regular Exercise, Quality of Life, and Mobility in Parkinson’s Disease: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Parkinson Foundation Quality Improvement Initiative Data. Journal of Parkinson’s disease, 2017. 7(1): p. 193-202. [5] Bouça‐Machado, R., et al., Physical activity, exercise, and physiotherapy in parkinson’s disease: defining the concepts. 2020. 7(1): p. 7-15. [6] Caspersen, C.J., K.E. Powell, and G.M. Christenson, Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public Health Rep, 1985. 100(2): p. 126-31. [7] Ellis, T., et al., Barriers to exercise in people with Parkinson disease. Physical therapy, 2013. 93(5): p. 628-636. [8] Quinn, L., et al., Client and therapist views on exercise programmes for early-mid stage Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Disability and Rehabilitation, 2010. 32(11): p. 917-928. [9] Okun, M.S., et al., Piloting the NPF data-driven quality improvement initiative. 2010. 16(8): p. 517-521. [10] Roberts, A.C., et al., Patterns and predictors of referrals to allied health services for individuals with Parkinson’s disease: A Parkinson’s foundation (PF) QII study. 2020.

« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2021

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/associations-between-exercise-classes-and-self-reported-exercise-by-people-with-parkinsons-disease-at-parkinsons-foundation-centers-of-excellence/