Objective: To investigate how turning performance (360 degrees in standing) is associated with perceived walking difficulties and comfortable gait speed in people with drug naïve or early Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: People with PD have impairments both in walking and turning, which are common activities in everyday life. There is limited knowledge of how turning performance relates to perceived walking difficulties versus objective aspects of gait in early PD.

Method: Inclusion criteria: patients with PD who were either drug naïve (n=12) or had been taking anti-PD medication for a maximum of 12 months (n=33). The total sample of 45 participants (31% female) had a mean (SD) age of 68.7 (11.0) years. Turning 360 degrees in standing (both directions) was timed by using a digital stopwatch, whereas the peak angular velocity was assessed by using a wearable sensor (gyroscope/accelerometer, posterior placed at the L5 level). Perceived walking difficulties during the past two weeks were assessed with the Generic Walk-12 (Walk-12G; possible scoring range 0-42; higher=worse). Comfortable gait speed was assessed by using an electronic walkway (active mat length 4.88 m; 6 laps). Potential associations were investigated by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r).

Results: There were no significant differences between those who were drug naïve and those who had been on anti-PD medication for a maximum of 12 months in relation to age (p=0.990), timed turning performance (p= 0.239), peak angular velocity (p=0.153), Walk-12G (p=0.252) or comfortable gait speed (p=0.692). In the total sample, the time (s) of turning 360 degrees (mean, SD: 7.9, 1.93) was significantly (p<0.001) correlated with perceived walking difficulties (r= 0.65) and comfortable gait speed (r= -0.60). Peak angular velocity (mean, SD: 185.1, 36.63 degrees/second) was also significantly (p<0.001) associated with perceived walking difficulties (r= -0.50) and comfortable gait speed (= 0.58).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that turning performance (360 degrees in standing) is associated with both perceived walking difficulties and comfortable gait speed in people with early PD. The knowledge gained may be of value when designing intervention studies that target gait and/or turning.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/turning-360-degrees-in-standing-associations-with-perceived-walking-difficulties-and-comfortable-gait-speed-in-people-with-drug-naive-early-parkinsons-disease/