Association between executive and physical functions in people with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Purpose People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can develop cognitive and physical impairments. There is limited evidence on the association between executive function and physical function in people with PD. Objective We aimed to investigate the association between the executive and physical functions in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by comparing healthy controls. Method Thirty-three patients diagnosed with PD and 33 healthy controls were included in the study. PD group was divided into two subgroups according to their scores on executive tests as high performers (PD-HPs; n = 17) and low performers (PD-LPs; n = 16). The severity of motor symptoms disease severity, executive function, global cognitive function, reaction time, hand function, functional capacity, physical activity, and balance confidence was assessed by the validated instruments. Results The PD group had less physical function and executive function compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05). The PD-LPs group had less physical and cognitive function than the PD-HPs group (p < 0.05). The executive functions were significantly correlated with almost all variables in both people with PD and healthy people, and correlations were moderate to strong (p < 0.05). However, the correlation coefficients were relatively higher in people with PD compared to healthy controls. Conclusion There was a significant association between executive and physical function in people with PD. Future studies should be conducted to determine whether the treatment of one of these dysfunctions affects the other.