Relation of chair rising ability to activities of daily living and physical activity in Parkinson’s disease

BACKGROUND: Many persons living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have difficulty rising from a chair. Impaired ability to perform the chair rise may be associated with low physical activity levels and reduced ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis was performed in 88 persons with PD to study the association of chair rising ability with ADL and physical activity. RESULTS: We found that the participants who pushed themselves up from the chair had more severe PD, higher motor impairment and more comorbidity than those who rose from a chair normally. The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale ADL (UPDRS-ADL), Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale (SE-ADL) and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) scores for the participants who pushed themselves up to rise (17.20 ± 7.53; 76.67 ± 13.23; 46.18 ± 52.64, respectively) were significantly poorer than for those who rose normally (10.35 ± 3.79; 87.64 ± 8.30; 112.90 ± 61.40, respectively) (all p < .05). Additionally, PASE scores were significantly poorer for participants who pushed themselves up to rise compared to those who rose slowly (95.21 ± 60.27) (p < .01). Pushing up to rise from a chair was a significant predictor of UPDRS-ADL (β = .357; p < .001; R(2) = .403), SE-ADL (β = −.266; p = .009; R(2) = .257) and PASE (β = −.250; p = .016; R(2) = .162). CONCLUSIONS: Ability to rise from a chair was associated with ADL limitation and physical activity in persons with PD. Poor ability to rise from a chair may prevent persons from living independently and engaging in physical activity.