Association of freezing of gait and clinical features in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a disabling symptom that affects the quality of life of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and its pathophysiology is not fully understood yet. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between FOG and other clinical characteristics in patients with PD. The clinical characteristics, modified Hoehn and Yahr (mHY) stages, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores, and total Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q) scores of the patients with PD were recorded. FOG-Q item 1.3 was used to evaluate patients with or without FOG. A total of 65 patients with PD (32 with FOG and 33 without FOG) were included to the study. Disease duration was longer, mHY stages were higher, bradykinesia and dyskinesia were more common in patients with FOG compared to patients without (p = 0.001, p = 0.036, p = 0.019 and p = 0.021; respectively). Patients with FOG had lower UPDRS part III tremor subscores (p = 0.020), although gait, postural balance subscores and part IV motor fluctuations scores were higher (p = 0.003, p = 0.023 and p < 0.001; respectively). A positive correlation was found between FOG-Q scores and mHY stages (p < 0.001), UPDRS part II and III total scores (p = 0.020 and p = 0.001) and part III bradykinesia, and gait and postural balance subscores (p = 0.003, p = 0.036 and p = 0.003, respectively), and part IV motor fluctuation scores (p = 0.006). The results of the present study point to an association between FOG and bradykinesia rather than tremor, prolonged disease duration and advanced disease stage reflecting its association with more severe and extensive neurodegenerative processes.