Bilateral leg edema in older patients

Abstract

function and cognitive function on muscle strength. We evaluated the relationship between grip strength and severity of PD adjusting for major determinants of muscle strength. Methods.– Age, height, weight, maximum grip strength, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score, Hoehn and Yahr (H & Y) stage, number of co-morbidities and medications, Barthel score, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and number of falls in the last year were assessed with participants in the “on” state. Results.– Thirty-four men and 23 women with PD, mean age 71.3 (standard deviation (SD) 8.0) and 72.6 years (SD 7.6), living in one town in England were recruited. Each unit increase in UPDRS score (–0.3 kg (95% confidence interval (C.I.)–0.51, –0.09): P=0.006) and H & Y stage (–3.87kg (95%C.I.–6.54, –1.21): P=0.005) was significantly associated with lower grip strength in univariate linear regression analyses adjusted for gender. In a multivariate regression model the severity of PD (as indicated by UPDRS score or H&Y stage) was the most important determinant of grip strength after age, gender and height. Key conclusions.– Increased severity of Parkinson’s disease is significantly associatedwithmuscleweakness. This appears to be distinct from the effects of reduced physical function or poor cognition and the mechanism is unclear.