Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease

Background. Neurological assessment of a patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is expected to reflect upon functional performance. As women are known to report more limitations even for same observed functional performance level, present study was designed to examine whether associations between neu...

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Main Authors: Kadri Medijainen, Mati Pääsuke, Aet Lukmann, Pille Taba
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Behavioural Neurology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/519801
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author Kadri Medijainen
Mati Pääsuke
Aet Lukmann
Pille Taba
author_facet Kadri Medijainen
Mati Pääsuke
Aet Lukmann
Pille Taba
author_sort Kadri Medijainen
collection DOAJ
description Background. Neurological assessment of a patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is expected to reflect upon functional performance. As women are known to report more limitations even for same observed functional performance level, present study was designed to examine whether associations between neurological assessments and functional performance differ across genders. Methods. 14 men and 14 women with PD participated. Functional performance was assessed by measuring walking speeds on 10-meter walk test (10MWT) and by performing timed-up-and-go-test (TUG). Neurological assessment included Hoehn and Yahr Scale (HY), Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale (S-E), and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results. In women with PD, Kendall’s tau-b correlation analyses revealed significant correlations between functional performance tests and neurological assessment measures, with the exception in MMSE. No corresponding associations were found for men, although they demonstrated better functional performance, as expected. Conclusion. Men in similar clinical stage of the PD perform better on functional tests than women. Disease severity reflects upon functional performance differently in men and women with PD. Results indicate that when interpreting the assessment results of both functional performance and neurological assessment tests, the gender of the patient should be taken into consideration.
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spelling doaj-art-1f08ff199f734e229c2344c82b246cb62025-08-20T03:54:34ZengWileyBehavioural Neurology0953-41801875-85842015-01-01201510.1155/2015/519801519801Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s DiseaseKadri Medijainen0Mati Pääsuke1Aet Lukmann2Pille Taba3Institute of Exercise Biology and Physiotherapy, University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, EstoniaInstitute of Exercise Biology and Physiotherapy, University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, EstoniaDepartment of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, EstoniaDepartment of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, EstoniaBackground. Neurological assessment of a patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is expected to reflect upon functional performance. As women are known to report more limitations even for same observed functional performance level, present study was designed to examine whether associations between neurological assessments and functional performance differ across genders. Methods. 14 men and 14 women with PD participated. Functional performance was assessed by measuring walking speeds on 10-meter walk test (10MWT) and by performing timed-up-and-go-test (TUG). Neurological assessment included Hoehn and Yahr Scale (HY), Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale (S-E), and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results. In women with PD, Kendall’s tau-b correlation analyses revealed significant correlations between functional performance tests and neurological assessment measures, with the exception in MMSE. No corresponding associations were found for men, although they demonstrated better functional performance, as expected. Conclusion. Men in similar clinical stage of the PD perform better on functional tests than women. Disease severity reflects upon functional performance differently in men and women with PD. Results indicate that when interpreting the assessment results of both functional performance and neurological assessment tests, the gender of the patient should be taken into consideration.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/519801
spellingShingle Kadri Medijainen
Mati Pääsuke
Aet Lukmann
Pille Taba
Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease
Behavioural Neurology
title Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease
title_full Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease
title_fullStr Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease
title_full_unstemmed Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease
title_short Functional Performance and Associations between Performance Tests and Neurological Assessment Differ in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease
title_sort functional performance and associations between performance tests and neurological assessment differ in men and women with parkinson s disease
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/519801
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