Objective: To use accelerometry as an objective measure of activity levels by people with Parkinson’s whilst taking part in a dance class, and during the week after attending a dance class.

Background: Dance is increasingly popular as a way for people with Parkinson’s to exercise and has been reported to lead to physical and psychological benefits, including reduction in mood disturbance (Lewis et al., 2016). However, it is not clear whether the amount of physical activity while dancing is important for any improvements. Wrist-worn accelerometers provide an objective, yet non-invasive, way of quantifying activity levels during a dance class, and in the hours and days following a dance class to determine whether dancing modifies subsequent activity.

Methods: 1) People with Parkinson’s (N=12, mean=67.9 years, H&Y 1-3), their partners as age matched controls (N=12, mean=68.2 years) and young adults (N=12, mean=25.2 years) attending the same dance class wore a GENEActiv accelerometer on their wrist for the class and the following rest session. 2) People with Parkinson’s (N=14, mean=65.5 years, H&Y1-4) wore an accelerometer for seven days following participation in a dance class and on a different week when there was no class, continuing their daily routine as normal. Comparison data was collected from people with Parkinson’s who never attended dance classes (N= 12, mean= 65.5 years, H&Y 1-3) and age matched controls (N=10, mean=70 years).

Results: 1) The accelerometers accurately tracked activity demonstrated by similar acceleration profiles for people attending the same dance class. People with Parkinson’s engaged in the same amount of activity as age-matched controls but less than younger individuals (P<0.05). 2) Activity levels did not differ across weeks (dance vs no-dance) or groups (Parkinson’s vs age match), nor was there a significant interaction between weeks and groups, or between groups on a no dance week.

Conclusions: Wrist-worn accelerometers are a feasible way of measuring activity by people with Parkinson’s during and after a dance class, enabling future comparisons between exercise types. Results from the seven day study do not support the anecdotal reports by people with Parkinson’s of increased activity levels following a class. Future research will focus on whether engaging in dance changes people with Parkinson’s perception of their activity levels.

References: Lewis, C., Annett, L. E., Davenport, S., Hall, A. A., & Lovatt, P. (2016). Mood changes following social dance sessions in people with Parkinson’s disease. Journal of health psychology, 21(4), 483-492.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/wrist-worn-accelerometer-measures-of-activity-by-people-with-parkinsons-during-and-following-dance/