The effect of home-based exercise on motor symptoms, quality of life and functional performance in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Yong Yang; Xueying Fu; Haoyang Zhang; Guoguang Ouyang; Shu-Cheng Lin

doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04595-6

The effect of home-based exercise on motor symptoms, quality of life and functional performance in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Geriatr. 2023 Dec 19;23(1):873. doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-04595-6.

Authors

Yong Yang¹, Xueying Fu², Haoyang Zhang², Guoguang Ouyang³, Shu-Cheng Lin⁴

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation, School of Physical Education and Sport, Chaohu University, Hefei, 238000, China.
² Laboratory of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation, School of Physical Education and Sport, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475001, China.
³ Nuanquan Middle School, Yingkou, China.
⁴ Department of Sport, Leisure and Health Management, Tainan University of Technology, Tainan City, 710302, Taiwan. s0975835@gmail.com.

Abstract

Background: Faced with the lack of physical activity caused by mandatory home isolation during special periods and patients' inconvenience in carrying out professionally supervised exercise, many home-based exercise programs have been developed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of home-based exercise on measures of motor symptoms, quality of life and functional performance in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis, and searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane library, and Web of Science from their inception date to April 1, 2023. The quality of the literature was assessed using PEDro's quality scale. The data was pooled using R software. Results are presented as pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: A total of 20 studies involving 1885 PD patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that home-based exercise had a small effect in relieving overall motor symptoms in PD patients (SMD = -0.29 [-0.45, -0.13]; P < 0.0001), improving quality of life (SMD = 0.20 [0.08, 0.32]; P < 0.0001), walking speed (SMD = 0.26 [0.05, 0.48]; P = 0.005), balance ability (SMD = 0.23 [0.10, 0.36]; P < 0.0001), finger dexterity (SMD = 0.28 [0.10, 0.46]; P = 0.003) and decreasing fear of falling (SMD = -0.29 [-0.49, -0.08]; P = 0.001). However, home-based exercise did not significantly relieve the overall motor symptoms of PD patients when the training period was less than 8 weeks and the total number of sessions was less than 30.

Conclusion: During times of limited physical activity due to pandemics such as COVID-19, home-based exercise is an alternative to maintain and improve motor symptoms in PD patients. In addition, for the minimum dose of home-based exercise, we recommend that the exercise period is no less than 8 weeks and the total number of sessions is no less than 30 times.

Trial registration: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022329780.

Keywords: COVID-19; Home-based exercise; Motor symptoms; Parkinson's disease patients; Physical activity.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Accidental Falls
Exercise
Exercise Therapy / methods
Fear
Fingers
Humans
Motor Skills
Parkinson Disease* / diagnosis
Parkinson Disease* / therapy
Physical Functional Performance
Quality of Life*