Gait kinematic predictors for the functional capacity tests in Parkinson?s disease patients

Gait characteristics of Parkinson?s disease (PD) patients prevent them to walk adaptively to the everyday situations. In both agility/dynamic balance (ADB) and general aerobic resistance and walking ability (ARW) tests of the AAHPERD battery of functional capacity, walking adaptively is required. Since the performance on those tests is measured by the time (s) walking speed is indirectly related to the performance in ABD and ARW. Could the walking pattern of PD patients affect the performance in both tests? The aim of this study was to determine which gait kinematic variables can predict the performance of ADB and ARW tests in PD patients. Three men and 5 women with PD, clinically evaluated by means of UPDRS and Hoehn & Yahr (HY p<0.05), CAD and ABD (r=-0.81; p<0.05), MV and ADB (r=-0.86; p<0.01), SL and ARW (r=-0.74; p<0.05), CAD and ARW (r=-0.78; p<0.05), and MV and ARW (r=-0.81; p<0.05). We also found positive correlation between ST and ADB (r=0.76; p<0.05), DS and ADB (r=0.91; p<0.01), ST and ARW (r=0.73; p<0.05), and DS and ARW (r=0.90; p<0.01). The multiple regression analyses reveals that DS was the only gait kinematic variable that predicts the performance on both ADB (R2=0.84; p<0.01) and ARW (R2=0.81; p<0.01). These results allowed us to conclude that the walking pattern of PD patients affect the performance in ADB and ARW tests. Acknowledgements: FINEP, CNPq, FNS, FAPESP, CAPES.