Brazilian dance self-perceived impacts on quality of life of people with Parkinson's.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) causes several motor and non-motor symptoms, resulting in negative impacts on physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of people with PD quality of life. Dance has been considered as a potential non-pharmacological intervention to improve people with PD motor and non-motor symptoms, thereby enhancing quality of life. Purpose: To analyze the self-perceive impacts of Brazilian Dance on the quality of life (physical, mental, emotional, and social) of PwPD, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Fourteen participants from the "Dança & Parkinson" project were included in this qualitative study. Data collection instruments consisted of a profile and personal data sheet; assessment of accessibility to the online dance classes; Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment by phone call; and semi-structured interview conducted through ZOOM video call. The participants characterization data were calculated using mean, standard deviation, and percentages with the Excel Program version 2013. Qualitative data was analyzed using the Thematic Analysis technique in the Nvivo, version 8.0, qualitative analysis of text, sound, and video program. Results: The participants reported facing various challenges in dealing with PD, which negatively impact their quality of life. However, their resilience, acceptance, and dedication to treatment play an important role in coping with the issues related to the disease. Brazilian dance, both in-person before the COVID-19 pandemic and online during the pandemic, led the participants to perceive improvements in physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of quality of life. Conclusion: The Brazilian dance appears to have a positive impact on the physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of the participants' quality of life, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effects of Brazilian dance, deep-water exercise and nordic walking, pre- and post-12 weeks, on functional-motor and non-motor symptoms in trained PwPD.

BACKGROUND: Motor and non-motor symptoms affect functional autonomy, mobility and daily life activities in People with Parkinson's Disease (PwPD). Brazilian Dance (BD), Deep-water exercise (DWE), and Nordic Walking (NW) are well-accepted, low-cost, and safe non-pharmacological strategies for untrained PwPD. However, no previous studies have investigated and compared the effects of these interventions on trained PwPD. OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare the effects of BD, DWE and NW, pre- and post-12 weeks, on functional-motor and non-motor symptoms in trained PwPD. METHODS: Eighty-three trained PwPD were randomly assigned into three groups: BD (n = 31), DWE (n = 21) and NW (n = 31), that participated in one of the interventions for 12 weeks. We applied Timed up and go at two speeds (self-selected and fast); 6-min and 10-meter walk test; Sit-to-Stand and handgrip test; Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale - III; Falls Efficacy Scale; Montreal Cognitive Assessment questionnaire; and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39. The main (group and time) and interaction effects were analyzed using GEE analysis (p<0.05). RESULTS: Statistical differences were found between groups in the handgrip test (p<0.01), the time (p = 0.04), and interaction group*time (p< 0.01) in the Sit-to-stand test. While BD improved the Sit-to-stand test performance (ES=1.00; large effect size), DWE and NW remained unchanged (ES=0.16 and ES=0.14; low effect size). CONCLUSION: BD, DWE, and NW maintained most of the functional-motor and non-motor symptoms in trained PwPD. BD was shown to be more effective at improving strength in the lower limbs, when compared to NW and DWE.

An Exploratory Study on the Effect of 2 Brazilian Dance Protocols on Motor Aspects and Quality of Life of Individuals with Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Due to its multiple benefits in Parkinson's Disease, Dance has been a widely recommended activity in rehabilitation. However, there is a gap in the literature on the use of Brazilian sytles in rehabilitation protocols. This study aimed to compare the effect of 2 different protocols of Brazilian dance, samba and forró, and samba on motor aspects and quality of life of individuals with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: In a nonrandomized clinical trial lasting 12 weeks, 69 individuals with Parkinson's disease participated in the study: forró and samba group (FSG = 23), samba group (SG = 23), and control group (CG = 23). RESULTS: Significant improvements were found after SG intervention in the UPDRSIII and in the subitem quality of life mobility. In intra-group comparisons of FSG, significant differences were found in the subtype of quality of life discomfort. In the intergroup analysis, significant differences were found between CG, SG, and FSG in the communication sub-item, showing a greater increase in the scores of the groups that participated in the SG and FSG. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that Brazilian dance practice is capable of improving the perception of some aspects of quality of life and motor symptoms in relation to controls in people with Parkinson's disease.

Association between mental health and physical activity levels in people with Parkinson's disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational cross-sectional survey in Brazil.

Aims: (1) To evaluate mental health symptoms in people with Parkinson's (PwP) in self-isolation, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Brazil; (2) to explore associations between mental health and physical activity levels. Methods: An observational cross-sectional survey using retrospective data. PwP from the Brazilian territory, both sexes, no age limit, in self-isolation due to COVID-19 pandemic, were invited to complete an online self-administered and validated questionnaire. Demographic data (sex, age, Brazilian state they lived in, levels of education, and household income), days in self-isolation, time of diagnosis, and symptoms that bothered most were reported. Self-reported levels of physical activity and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, fear, and thoughts of death), before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, were assessed. Results: The participants were 156 individuals with PD (64 ± 11 years), from both sexes (50% women; 50% men), resident in the 5 Brazilian regions. There was a worse on mental health symptoms over the time: anxiety [effect size = - 0.52; 95% CI (- 0.70; - 0.28); p < .001], fear [effect size = - 0.58; 95% CI (- 0.76; - 0.34); p < .001], and thoughts of death [effect size = - 0.43; 95% CI (- 072;-0.02); p = .001]. A lower physical activity level during the pandemic is related to increased probability of thoughts of death [crude OR = 1.84; 95% CI (0.98; 3.46); p = 0.05; adjusted OR = 2.98; 95% CI (- 0.01; 2.19); p = 0.05]. Anxiety, fear and depression were not associated with physical activity levels. Conclusions: Anxiety, fear and thoughts of death worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with the period before COVID-19. Lower physical activity level during the pandemic was related to an increased probability of thoughts of death. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11332-021-00868-y.

Physical activity of individuals with Parkinson's in social isolation before and during the pandemic COVID-19 / Atividade física de indivíduos com doença de Parkinson em isolamento social antes e durante a pandemia de COVID-19

The world has been hit by a pandemic caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which has result-ed in government recommendations and measures including social isolation to reduce the spread of the disease. In view of these recommendations, there were drastic changes in lifestyle, impacting the physical and mental health of men and women. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the practice of physical activity, according to sex, in individuals with Parkinson's disease in social isolation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Cross-sectional observational study, based on an online question-naire validated for individuals with Parkinson's disease PAFPA/COVID19, in which 156 individuals of both sexes and degrees of the disease (I to V ) were allocated, with a mean age of 63.70 ± 11.00 years and from different Brazilian regions. Chi-square, Fisher's exact and binary logistic regression tests were used. It is observed that 92% of the participants were in social isolation, which caused nega-tive effects on the level of physical activity of the participants, even though most of them doing phys-ical activity online. In addition, it was found that those who participated in specific exercise programs for Parkinson's disease, are less likely to be insufficiently active, as well as individuals who receive online guidance. Although social isolation is a necessary measure to combat COVID-19, the results show a negative effect of this social isolation on the parameters of physical activity in this population in different regions of Brazil. This suggests that better strategies for health promotion in order to increase levels of physical activity at home are necessary to reduce the physical inactivity lifestyle dur-ing the pandemic, in order to prevent diseases associated with social isolation and physical inactivity

O mundo foi atingido por uma pandemia causada pelo novo coronavírus (COVID-19), que resultou em re-comendações e medidas governamentais, incluindo isolamento social para reduzir a disseminação da doença. Diante dessas recomendações, ocorreram mudanças drásticas no estilo de vida, impactando na saúde física e mental de homens e mulheres. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a prática de atividade física, segundo o sexo, em indivíduos com doença de Parkinson em isolamento social antes e durante a pandemia de COVID-19. Estudo observacional transversal, baseado em questionário online validado para indivíduos com doença de Parkinson PAFPA/COVID19, no qual foram avaliados 156 indivíduos de ambos os sexos e graus da doença (I ao V ), com média de idade de 63,70 ± 11,00 anos e de diferentes regiões brasileiras. Foram utilizados os testes Qui-quadrado, exato de Fisher e a regressão logística binária. Observa-se que 92% dos participantes encontravam-se em isolamento social, o que causou repercussões negativas no nível de atividade física dos participantes, embora a maioria realizasse atividade física online. Além disso, verificou-se que aqueles que participaram de programas de exercícios específicos para a doença de Parkinson, tiveram menor probabilidade de serem insuficientemente ativos, assim como os indivíduos que recebem orientação online. Embora o isolamento social seja uma medida necessária para combater a COVID-19, os resultados mostram um efeito negativo desse isolamento social sobre os parâmetros de atividade física dessa população em dife-rentes regiões do Brasil. Isso sugere que melhores estratégias de promoção da saúde para aumentar os níveis de atividade física no domicílio são necessárias para reduzir o inatividade física durante a pandemia, a fim de prevenir doenças associadas ao isolamento social e inatividade física