The Effects of Sedentary Activity on Individuals with Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

<p>There are approximately 2 million people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the United States. The most common symptoms of this disease are tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, loss of balance, and difficulty speaking. Living with a degenerative disease that effects a person’s movement, like PD, can lead to an increase in sedentary behavior. Thus, the goal of this study is to measure how sedentary behavior is related to quality of life in persons with PD. Thirty participants will complete the 39 question Parkinson’s disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) that measures their subjective evaluation of quality of life. In addition, participants will wear a Jawbone Upband24 Activity Tracker for one week to measure sedentary behavior. Bivariate Pearson correlation analysis will be completed to assess the relationship between quality of life and sedentary behavior in persons with PD. We hypothesize that persons with PD that have a higher sedentary behavior rate (less active) will have higher scores on the PDQ-39 (poorer quality of life). This study will provide baseline data that will aid in developing new treatment strategies to increase physical activity and quality of life in persons with PD.</p>