Exploring The Association Between Physical Activity, Depression Severity And Parkinson’S Disease (pd) Symptoms In Older Adults With Pd: A Cross-sectional Study

PURPOSE: This study investigates how different levels of depression severity influence physical activity level, motor and non-motor symptoms, and functional mobility among older adults with PD. Additionally, we examine the relationships between physical activity levels, depression, and PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms. METHODS: The FoxInsight (FI) dataset was used for this research, involving a total of 3,445 individuals with PD. Each participant completed the Geriatric Depression Scale - Short Form (depression; GDS-S), the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (physical activity; PASE), the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire (PD non-motor symptoms; NMS-Q), and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale 2 (PD motor symptoms; UPDRS-2). Participants were divided into four groups based on their GDS-S scores: normal, mild, moderate, and severe. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to examine how GDS-S severity affects NMS-Q, UPDRS-2, and PASE scores. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (two-tailed) was applied to determine relationships between these variables. Finally, multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of depression severity. RESULTS: There were strong and significant relationships between GDS-S, PASE, NMS-Q, and UPDRS-2. Additionally, older adults with PD who had normal depression levels showed better perceived functional mobility, as well as improved UPDRS-2 (χ2 = 756.72, p < 0.001), NMS-Q (χ2 = 1072.13, p < 0.001), and PASE scores (χ2 = 396.235, p < 0.001), compared to those with mild, moderate, or severe depression. Lastly, multiple linear regression demonstrated that UPDRS-2, NMS-Q, PASE, and years with PD were significant predictors of depression severity (R2 = 0.428, F(4,3440) = 644.789, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that lower depression severity in older adults with PD is associated with better motor and non-motor symptom management, increased physical activity, and improved functional mobility. These results underscore the importance of monitoring and addressing depression in this population to enhance overall health and quality of life.