Assessment of Psychometric Characteristics of Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale 2 and Analysis of a Cut-Off Score for Detecting Insomnia in Italian Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Validation Study.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep disorders are frequent non-motor symptoms affecting patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Insomnia represents the most common sleep disorder. Parkinson's disease Sleep Scale 2 (PDSS-2) is a specific tool to investigate sleep problems in PD. The General Sleep Disturbances Scale (GSDS) was a general scale validated for the Italian population. Our goal was to assess the psychometric characteristics of PDSS-2 and the GSDS in this population, calculating a cut-off score for insomnia symptoms by using subitems of PDSS-2. METHODS: Patients admitted at the PD Unit of the Hospital of Rome Tor Vergata outpatient clinic and those afferent to PD associations were asked to complete PDSS-2 and GSDS to be correlated to identify a cut-off for insomnia symptoms. Items 1,2,3,8,13 of PDSS-2 were used to detect insomnia. An ROC curve to assess a cut-off score for insomnia was determined. A cross-cultural analysis of PD population characteristics was performed. RESULTS: In total, 350 PD patients were recruited. Cronbach's alpha was high for the total score (0.828 for PDSS-2 and 0.832 for GSDS). A cross-cultural analysis did not show any significant p-value. The ROC curve yielded an AUC of 0.79 (CI: 0.75-0.84). The cut-off value for insomnia disorder based on items 1,2,3,8,13 of PDSS-2 was >10, demonstrating a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 69% in determining the presence of subjective insomnia symptoms in PD. DISCUSSION: PDSS-2 is demonstrated to be a valid, specific tool to address sleep disturbances in PD patients. A cut-off score of 10 for items 1,2,3,8,13 was identified for detecting insomnia symptoms in PD patients.

Translation and Cultural Adaptation of the StimQ for Use with Italian Children from Kindergartens.

The StimQ questionnaire is used to assess the home environment of children. The questionnaire is comprised of four subscales, and it was completed by the main caregiver. The items were different considering the band ages of the children: infants (5-12 months), toddlers (12-36 months), and preschoolers (36-72 months). The aim of the study was to translate, transculturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the StimQ. To achieve this goal, a sample of 142 children was recruited from different kindergartens. The mean age of the group was 30.63 (SD 19.56), and 112 of them were female. The main caregiver was the mother in 95% of the cases. The Cronbach's alfa was excellent, considering the total score (0.82 for infants, 0.85 for toddlers, and 0.86 for preschoolers). Intrarater reliability was performed by administering the questionnaire after 48 h and by two different researchers. Both analyses showed an excellent reliability for the total score and all the subscales. The intrarater reliability was 0.99 for the infant, 1 for the toddler and 0.99 for the preschooler age groups. The interrater reliability was 0.95 for the infant, 0.93 for the toddler, and 0.97 for the preschooler age groups. The StimQ is a reliable questionnaire that could be helpful for clinicians and researchers who work with children in Italy.

Dominant and Nondominant Leg Kinematics During Kicking in Young Soccer Players: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The goal of the study is to analyze the kinematics and provide an EMG analysis of the support limb during an instep kick in adolescent players. We set a video camera, two torque transducers on the knee, and EMG sensors. A sample of 16 adolescent soccer players between 10 and 12 years old performed kicks. The kinematics shows a p = .039 on frontal plane (dominant 15.4 ± 1.8, nondominant 18.8 ± 1.7); the EMG analysis shows a p = .04 on muscular activation timing for the vastus medialis. A difference between the legs on the frontal plane emerges. Moreover, a huge difference on sagittal plane between the adolescent pattern and adult pattern exists (15° in adolescent population, 40° in adult population). The result shows a greater activation of the vastus medialis in the nondominant leg; probably, in this immature pattern, the adolescents use this muscle more than necessary.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Pregnancy Mobility Index for the Italian Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy is a specific condition that modifies the mobility of women. In this population, it seems important to use specific tools to properly assess them. The Pregnancy Mobility Index (PMI) was created in 2006 with the aim of assessing mobility in pregnant women. The goal of this study was to translate, adapt, and evaluate the statistical properties of the questionnaire in the Italian pregnant population. METHODS: The PMI underwent translation and transcultural adaptation. Reliability and concurrent validity, compared to the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), was investigated on a sample of pregnant women. An ANOVA was performed to detect differences in the PMI score considering the Body Mass Index (BMI) and age of the sample. RESULTS: The PMI was forward translated, back translated, and transculturally adapted. A consensus meeting accepted the final version of the questionnaire. The PMI was given to 93 pregnant women. PMI showed excellent reliability for every item and the total score (Cronbach's alpha of 0.945). Concurrent validity compared with ODI items 2-9 was strong considering the total score, with r = 0.726, but moderate comparing the first item of the ODI and the total score of the PMI, r = 470, and considering the total score of both questionnaires (r = 0.683). The ANOVA showed statistical difference in pregnant women with lower BMI for every subscale and total score of PMI (p = 0.009) and for outdoor mobility considering age (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: The PMI seems to be a valid and reliable tool to assess mobility in the pregnant population. Pregnant women with a lower BMI showed a greater mobility score in the PMI. In turn, younger pregnant women presented a lower mobility score compared to older pregnant women.

Effectiveness of Vestibular Rehabilitation after Concussion: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) affects approximately 740 cases per 100,000 people. Impairments related to mTBI include vertigo, dizziness, balance, gait disorders double or blurry vision, and others. The efficacy on acute or chronic phase and dosage of vestibular rehabilitation (VR) in reducing these symptoms is not clearly stated. To clarify these points, we performed a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: A systematic literature search was performed from 2015 to 2022 on PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Trial SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and PEDRO. Eligibility criteria were RCTs which consider VR, participants with mTBI, and no gender or age restriction. Two blinded reviewers independently selected the study, and a third author was contacted in case of disagreements. Risk of bias was independently screened by two authors and successively checked by the other two authors. Results: Thirty-three full articles were read for potential inclusion and seven records met the inclusion criteria. The authors analysed different outcomes considering DHI, a meta-analysis was carried out, statistical difference was observed (p < 0.01), and a mean difference of −6.91 (−9.11, −4.72) in favour of VR was shown. Considering quality of life, the VR group reached a higher score on QOLIBRI. Controversial results were shown about balance and subjective symptoms questionnaire. Differently considering HiMAT, the authors showed a statistically important difference in favour of VR (p = 0.002). Conclusion: VR seems useful to reduce symptoms in patients with concussion; however, a huge heterogeneity of the studies and of the outcomes used were found. Therefore, a larger sample is necessary to assess the efficacy of VR.