Leg Muscle Strength Correlates with Gait Performance in Advanced Parkinson Disease

OBJECTIVE: Leg muscle strength (LMS) is decreased in early-stage Parkinson disease (PD) patients and is associated with slower walking and falls. However, LMS in advanced PD has not been well investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate LMS in advanced PD patients and its effects on gait performance, activities of daily living, and the cognitive function. METHODS: The medical records of 132 patients with idiopathic advanced PD [Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stages 3 and 4] with a mean disease duration of 9.6 years were retrospectively reviewed. Leg extensor muscle strength of the patients was measured using a Strength Ergo 240. The associations between the LMS and gait performance, Barthel index, H&Y stage, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score were analyzed. RESULTS: A Spearman's correlation analysis showed that LMS was correlated with the sex, age, age of disease onset, H&Y stage, Barthel index, MMSE score, and gait parameters. A multivariable linear regression analysis for identifying predictors of LMS showed that the gait velocity (β=0.377), Barthel index (β=0.281), sex (β=-0.187), and disease duration (β=-0.155) were significant. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for discriminating between H&Y stage 3 and 4 was performed for LMS; the area under the curve was 0.774 (95% confidence interval=0.696-0.851). CONCLUSIONS: LMS was strongly associated with multiple domains of clinical characteristics, especially gait velocity and the Barthel index. Our study also suggested that LMS can be a predictor of PD progression.