Assessing Disparities in Quality of Life and Depression Outcomes for People with Parkinson’s Disease Participating in an Adaptango Dance or Walk Intervention. Open Access
Rodriguez, Alex (Spring 2025)
Abstract
Background: Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States and negatively impacts quality of life. Medication alone is ineffective at slowing degeneration, necessitating exercise and other behavioral interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality from the disorder. In a meta-analysis of different exercise techniques in people with Parkinson’s Disease, dance was found to be most effective at improving depressive symptoms, however, little is known if positive effects from dance and walk based exercise for people with Parkinson’s Disease is effective in Black individuals in the United States.
Methods: An exploratory analysis comparing psychosocial and functional outcomes was conducted using data from the PAIRED Trial (NCT04122690). The trial includes a racially diverse sample of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease participating in either a dance or walk-based exercise program over 16 months. Outcomes included depression, quality of life, social support, and parts I-III of the Movement Disorder Society’s Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. Differences in each outcome were computed through statistical software and compared between White and Black individuals using a Mann-Whitney U Test and Fixed Effects Regression.
Results: Participants were assessed at both baseline and 3 months after they began classes. The sample was 68% non-Hispanic White (n=28) and 27% non-Hispanic Black (n=11). The mean (49-83) age was 70.6 (49-83) years. There were no significant differences for any observed psychosocial changes between Black and White individuals over the 3-month period except that disability and functional status as measured by the Role of Physical Functioning Score, improved more (Glass’ Δ=1.06, 0.38-1.85) among Black compared to White individuals (p<0.05).
Discussion: Despite there being no statistically significant differences for 15 of the 16 outcomes variables assessed, the differential improvement in the Role of Physical Functioning Score may reveal the impact that access to free exercise classes have on self-perceived physical ability. Outside of a research setting, Black individuals may have fewer opportunities to participate in costly Parkinson’s exercise classes outside of a research setting. Future studies with more participants are required to confirm or reject the results of this exploratory analysis.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Literature Review. 1
Background. 1
Racial Disparities in Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosis and Outcomes. 3
Methods. 5
Study Population. 5
Primary Measures. 6
Nonparametric Analysis. 7
Fixed Effects Analysis. 9
Results. 11
Discussion. 13
Funding. 17
Tables. 18
Table 1. 18
Table 2. 20
Table 3. 22
Table 4: 25
Supplemental Table 1: 26
Supplemental Table 2. 27
References. 28
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Assessing Disparities in Quality of Life and Depression Outcomes for People with Parkinson’s Disease Participating in an Adaptango Dance or Walk Intervention. () | 2025-04-23 14:12:54 -0400 |
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