Table 4. Characteristics and activity levels in relation to perceived effect of exercise on fatigue.
| Group 1 No effect of exercise | Group 2 Exercise improves fatigue | Group 3 Exercise worsens fatigue | Group 4: Does not exercise | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Characteristics | |||||
| n1 | 191 | 511 | 194 | 98 | — |
| Age in years, Mean (SD) | 68.3 (10.0) | 66.9 (9.0) | 67.0 (9.3) | 68.9 (9.6) | 0.05522 |
| Male n (% of total male) | 105 (18.2) | 274 (47.6 | 126 (21.9) | 52 (9.0) | 0.0483 |
| Female n (% of total female) | 86 (19.0) | 237 (52.3) | 68 (15.0) | 46 (10.2) | |
| Disease duration in years, Mean (SD) | 5.1 (6.0) | 4.2 (5.0) | 4.6 (4.8) | 5.6 (6.0) | 0.11462 |
| PFS score, Mean (SD) | 49.2 (16.5) | 46.2 (14.9) | 55.2 (14.9) | 56.1 (15.2) | <0.0125a,b,c,d,e |
| MDS-UPDRS II score, Mean (SD) | 12.4 (7.8) | 9.8 (6.9) | 14.1 (8.6) | 16.3 (9.7) | <0.0125a,c,d,e |
| GDS-15 score, Mean (SD) | 4.4 (3.7) | 3.5 (3.2) | 5.5 (4.0) | 5.9 (4.2) | <0.0125a,b,c,d,e |
| SCOPA-NS score, Mean (SD) | 6 (3.58) | 5.90 (3.42) | 6.80 (3.83) | 7.11 (3.76) | <0.0125d,e |
| SCOPA-DS score, Mean (SD) | 4.3 (3.5) | 3.8 (3.0) | 4.5 (3.6) | 4.8 (3.4) | <0.0125d,e |
| Physical Activity | |||||
| PASE total score, Mean (SD) | 144.8 (93.7) | 158.5 (88.8) | 119.8 (66.6) | 85.2 (77.0) | <0.0125a,c,d,e,f |
| Light sport score, Median (IQR) | 0 (0–2.3) | 0 (0–2.3) | 0 (0–2.3) | 0 (0–0) | <0.0125c,e,f |
| Moderate sport score, Median (IQR) | 0 (0–0.75) | 0 (0–0.75) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | <0.0125c,e |
| Strenuous sport score, Median (IQR) | 0 (0–0.75) | 0 (0–4.5) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | <0.0125a,c,d,e,f |
| Strength and Endurance exercises score, Median (IQR) | 0.75 (0–3.0) | 1.8 (0–4.5) | 0.75 (0–2.3) | 0 (0–0) | <0.0125c,d,e,f |
135 participants did not provide a response to the question regarding impact of exercise on fatigue.
2p-value denotes any between-group differences per Kruskal-Wallis test. Significant differences (p <0.0125) among pairs of groups denoted as follows: (a) Group 1 vs Group 2 (b) Group 1 vs Group 3 (c) Group 1 vs Group 4 (d) Group 2 vs Group 3 (e) Group 2 vs Group 4 (f) Group 3 vs Group 4
3p-value as calculated with Fisher’s exact test