Table 2.
Baseline comparison of the experimental and control group.
| EG | CG | U | Between-group significance, p | Effect size, r | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | 9 | 14 | ||||
| Sociodemographic and clinical data | ||||||
| Sex | Males | 8 | 11 | 56.500 | 0.630 | |
| Females | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Years of age | 56.67 ± 3.61 | 55.29 ± 7.43 | 54.500 | 0.609 | ||
| Level of education | No formal education | 0 | 1 | 53.000 | 0.952 | |
| Min. 9 years of education | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Min. 12 years of education | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 12–16 years of education | 1 | 0 | ||||
| More than 16 years of education | 5 | 7 | ||||
| Marital status | Single | 1 | 1 | 57.000 | 0.643 | |
| Relationship | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Married | 6 | 8 | ||||
| Divorced | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Handedness (EHI) | Right | 9 | 12 | 54.000 | 0.502 | |
| Left | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Bilateral | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Years since PD diagnosis | 8.64 ± 5.49 | 6.94 ± 4.25 | 52.000 | 0.504 | ||
| DBS | No | 4 | 2 | 44.000 | 0.162 | |
| Yes | 5 | 12 | ||||
| Years since DBS surgery | 1.62 ± 2.55 | 2.50 ± 3.17 | 24.500 | 0.583 | ||
| Freezing of gait (FOGQ) | 5 (R = 16; n = 5/9) | 0 (R = 21; n = 6/14) | 54.000 | 0.559 | ||
| Physical activity level (IPAQ) | Low | 0 | 5 | 34.000 | 0.099 | 0.37 |
| Moderate | 4 | 4 | ||||
| High | 5 | 4 | ||||
| Cognition | ||||||
| Global cognition (MoCA)a | 25 (R = 5) | 25 (R = 10) | 47.500 | 0.471 | ||
| Attention (TAP) | Alertness (reaction time in ms)b | 261 (R = 257) | 288.5 (R = 822) | 58.500 | 0.793 | |
| Divided attention (omissions)b | 1 (R = 6) | 2.5 (R = 7) | 46.500 | 0.306 | ||
| Executive functions (TAP) | Flexibility (reaction time in ms)b | 1,067 (R = 1,429) | 834 (R = 2,458) | 48.000 | 0.369 | |
| Flexibility (errors)b | 2 (R = 15) | 3.5 (R = 16) | 59.000 | 0.815 | ||
| Inhibition (reaction time in ms)b | 473 (R = 281) | 425.5 (R = 225) | 38.000 | 0.124 | ||
| Inhibition (errors)b | 1 (R = 4) | 1 (R = 10) | 59.000 | 0.813 | ||
| Working memory (WMSR) | Digit span reversea | 6 (R = 7) | 6 (R = 3) | 46.000 | 0.274 | |
| Block span reversea | 6 (R = 8) | 7.5 (R = 7) | 44.000 | 0.228 | ||
| Memory (WMSR) | Digit span forwarda | 6 (R = 5) | 6.5 (R = 6) | 55.500 | 0.645 | |
| Block span forwarda | 8 (R = 7) | 7.5 (R = 6) | 46.000 | 0.294 | ||
| Visuocognition (TAP) | Visual scanning (reaction time in ms)b | 3,409 (R = 1,987) | 4,031 (R = 5,021) | 31.000 | 0.046t | 0.42 |
| Visual scanning (errors)b | 5 (R = 16) | 8.5 (R = 24) | 45.000 | 0.267 | ||
| Visuocognition (LPS 50+) | Mental rotationa | 9 (R = 25) | 12.5 (R = 12) | 51.000 | 0.465 | |
| Motor function | ||||||
| Motor impairment | Hoehn and Yahrb | 2.5 (R = 1.5) | 2.5 (R = 2.5) | 62.500 | 0.981 | |
| UPDRS IIIb | 28 (R = 35) | 28 (R = 42) | 62.000 | 0.963 | ||
| Patient-centered outcomes | ||||||
| Depressive mood (GDS)b | 2 (R = 8) | 1 (R = 7) | 41.500 | 0.172 | ||
| Quality of life (PDQ-39)b | 30 (R = 72) | 36 (R = 76) | 58.500 | 0.087t | 0.29 | |
| Fatigue (PFS-16)b | 45 (R = 45) | 44.5 (R = 54) | 61.000 | 0.914 | ||
| ADL independence (FIM)a | 89 (R = 14) | 88.5 (R = 33) | 56.000 | 0.672 | ||
Higher scores indicate better performance.
Lower scores indicate better performance.
P-values are reported for all data, effect sizes only in case of a significant finding. For sociodemographic and clinical data, frequencies, as well as means and standard deviations, are reported. For cognitive, motor, and patient-centered outcomes, medians and ranges are reported. For sociodemographic data, p was set at p ≤ 0.05, whereas p ≤ 0.1 were considered as trends. Corrected p-values are reported for the cognitive data (p ≤ 0.004), the motor function data (p ≤ 0.025), and the patient-centered outcomes (p ≤ 0.013).
t, statistical trend; R, range; EHI, Edinburgh Handedness Scale; FOGQ, Freezing of Gait Questionnaire; IPAQ, International Physical Activity Questionnaire; MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment; TAP, Test of attentional Performance; WMSR, Wechsler Memory Scale revised; LPS50+, Leistungsprüfsystem; GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale; PDQ-39, 39-item Parkinson's disease questionnaire; PFS-16, 16-item Parkinson Fatigue Scale.