Dataset Information

Lower Limb Rigidity Is Associated with Frequent Falls in Parkinson's Disease.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objective

The role of muscle rigidity as an etiological factor of falls in Parkinson's disease (PD) is poorly understood. Our objective was to determine whether lower leg rigidity was differentially associated with frequent falls in PD compared to upper limb, neck, and total rigidity measures.

Methods

We examined the associations between Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Part III (motor) rigidity subscores and the history of monthly or more frequent falls in 216 individuals with PD (age, 66?±?10 years; 36% female; disease duration, 7?±?5 years) with logistic regression.

Results

A total of 35 individuals were frequent fallers. Significant associations were identified between lower limb rigidity and frequent falls (P =?0.01) after controlling for age, sex, PD duration, total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale- Part III score, and presence of freezing of gait. No significant associations (P???0.14) were identified for total, arm, or neck rigidity.

Conclusion

Lower limb rigidity is related to frequent falls in people with PD. Further investigation may be warranted into how parkinsonian rigidity could cause falls.

SUBMITTER: McKay JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6660233 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Lower Limb Rigidity Is Associated with Frequent Falls in Parkinson's Disease.

McKay J Lucas JL Hackney Madeleine E ME Factor Stewart A SA Ting Lena H LH

Movement disorders clinical practice 20190606 6

<h4>Background and objective</h4>The role of muscle rigidity as an etiological factor of falls in Parkinson's disease (PD) is poorly understood. Our objective was to determine whether lower leg rigidity was differentially associated with frequent falls in PD compared to upper limb, neck, and total rigidity measures.<h4>Methods</h4>We examined the associations between Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Part III (motor) rigidity subscores and the history of monthly or more frequent falls in ...[more]

PMID: 31392245

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Project description:BackgroundFalls are a major health burden for older adults with Parkinson's disease (PD), but there is currently no reliable questionnaire to capture the circumstances and consequences of falls in older adults with PD. This study aimed to develop a PD-specific falls questionnaire and to evaluate its test-retest reliability in older adults with PD.MethodsA novel PD-specific falls questionnaire (PDF-Q) was developed in two modes (online and paper-based version) and used to assess falls and near-falls events over the past 12-months. Questions were agreed upon by an expert group, with the domains based on previous falls-related questionnaires. The questions included the number and circumstances (activities, location and direction) of falls and near-falls, and consequences (injuries and medical treatment) of falls. The PDF-Q was distributed to 46 older adults with PD (online n = 30, paper n = 16), who completed the questionnaire twice, 4 weeks apart. Kappa (κ) statistics were used to establish test-retest reliability of the questionnaire items.ResultsPooled results from both questionnaires for all participants were used to assess the overall test-retest reliability of the questionnaire. Questions assessing the number of falls (κ = 0.41) and the number of near-falls (κ = 0.51) in the previous 12-months demonstrated weak agreement, while questions on the location of falls (κ = 0.89) and near-falls (κ = 1.0) demonstrated strong to almost perfect agreement. Questions on the number of indoor (κ = 0.86) and outdoor (κ = 0.75) falls demonstrated moderate to strong agreement, though questions related to the number of indoor (κ = 0.47) and outdoor (κ = 0.56) near-falls demonstrated weak agreement. Moderate to strong agreement scores were observed for the most recent fall and near-fall in terms of the direction (indoor fall κ = 0.80; outdoor fall κ = 0.81; near-fall κ = 0.54), activity (indoor fall κ = 0.70; outdoor fall κ = 0.82; near-fall κ = 0.65) and cause (indoor fall κ = 0.75; outdoor fall κ = 0.62; near-fall κ = 0.56).ConclusionsThe new PDF-Q developed in this study was found to be reliable for capturing the circumstances and consequences of recent falls and near-falls in older adults with PD.

Dataset Information

Lower Limb Rigidity Is Associated with Frequent Falls in Parkinson's Disease.

Background and objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Lower Limb Rigidity Is Associated with Frequent Falls in Parkinson's Disease.

Similar Datasets

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