Article

Weakness is reported in Parkinson's but always unadjusted for
recognized factors that influence muscle strength such as participants' age,
gender, and body size. This may obscure the true association of Parkinson's with
muscle strength. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between grip strength,
Parkinson's severity, and duration adjusting for these factors. METHODS: Age,
gender, height, weight, grip strength, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Score
(UPDRS) motor score, Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage, disease duration, number of
comorbidities and medications, Barthel score, Mini Mental State Examination
(MMSE) score, and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score were
recorded. RESULTS: Fifty-seven of 79 (72%) people with Parkinson's resident in
one town were recruited. Age, gender, height, and Parkinson's severity were the
most significant determinants of grip strength. Each unit increase in UPDRS motor
score and H&Y stage was associated with lower grip strength in univariate linear
regression analyses adjusted for gender: -0.3 kg strength (95% confidence
interval = -0.51, -0.09), P = .006 for each additional UPDRS point, and -3.87 kg
strength (95% confidence interval = -6.54, -1.21), P = .005 for each additional
H&Y stage. Disease duration was not associated with grip strength. In
multivariate regression, Parkinson's severity remained strongly associated with
grip strength (UPDRS score P = .09; H&Y stage P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: This is the
first demonstration that increasing severity of Parkinson's was associated with
weaker grip after adjustment for known influences on muscle strength.
Participants' age, gender, and body size also had a significant impact on
strength. Adjustment of reported values for all these factors is essential to
allow accurate reporting of grip strength values in intervention trials and
comparison between different groups.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2015.

Langue : ANGLAIS