Exercise capacity in people with Parkinson's disease: which clinical characteristics are important?

Background People with Parkinson's (PwP) are suffering from reduced exercise capacity. However, little information is known about clinical correlates of exercise capacity in this population Objective This study aimed to evaluate correlations between motor and non-motor symptoms with exercise capacity in PwP. Methods A total of 50 individuals with Parkinson's disease participated in the study. Exercise capacity was measured by 6 minutes' walk test (6MWT). Besides, the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Part III used to evaluate disease motor severity, Berg Balance Scale to assess balance, Montreal Cognitive Assessment to evaluate cognitive status, hospital anxiety and depression scale to assess depression and anxiety, Modified Fatigue Impact scale to evaluate fatigue, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to evaluate sleep quality. Results The results showed that exercise capacity, when measured by the 6MWT, can be significantly predicted by balance, disease motor severity, anxiety, and age (R-2 = 0.61 P < .0001). Conclusion These results suggest that exercise capacity in PwP is multifactorial and can potentially be predicted by balance, motor severity, anxiety, and age.