title: Impact of an exercise program on physical, emotional, and social aspects of quality of life of individuals with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: We evaluated changes in different domains of quality of life (QL) for persons with Parkinson's disease after a program of physical activity. Twenty subjects with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease classified as Stages 1 to 3 on the Hoehn and Yahr scale and with a mean age of 61.5 +/- 9.8 years participated in 36 group sessions of a combined group program of aerobic conditioning and muscular strengthening. QL was investigated by the Nottingham Health Profile, a generic questionnaire composed of six domains. Student's paired t tests indicated significant gains associated with the program (P < 0.05) on the total score and those related to emotional reactions (ER), social interactions (SI), and physical ability (PA). SI was the domain that showed the greatest program gains (41.4%). The program of physical activity performed with persons with Parkinson's disease at light to moderate stages resulted in improvements in their perception of QL, mainly in the domains of ER, SI, and PA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fátima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodrigues de Paula
authors.forename: Luci Fuscaldi
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Teixeira-Salmela
authors.forename: Christina Danielli
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Coelho de Morais Faria
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rocha de Brito
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004644:Emotions; D015444:Exercise; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D010146:Pain; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D012890:Sleep; D012919:Social Behavior