Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity, anxiety, and depression in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Balci, Birgul; Aktar, Burcin; Buran, Sinan; Tas, Melike; Donmez Colakoglu, Berril

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has yielded containment measures with detrimental effects on the physical and mental health of the general population. The impacts of lockdown on clinical features in Parkinson’s disease are not well known. We aimed to compare the physical activity, anxiety–depression levels between Parkinson’s disease patients and controls during lockdown. Forty-five Parkinson’s disease patients and 43 controls were evaluated with the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) via telephone interview. The patients’ disease-related symptoms were worsened during lockdown though regular Parkinson’s disease medication use. The PASE scores were low in both groups. The HADS scores of groups were below the cutoff point of anxiety–depression presence. Pandemic restrictions could lead to worsening of the motor and nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.