Jehu D A, Bek J, Hackney M E
Department of Community & Behavioral Health Sciences, Institute of Public and Preventive Health, School of Public Health, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States.
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jul 16;16:1525172. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1525172. eCollection 2025.
Poor physical function influences social support among people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Physical function can be improved through exercise, but whether social support influences intervention responsiveness is unclear. This study aimed to (1) examine the influence of 12 weeks of group exercise (tango or walking) on physical function in people with PD who reported low versus high baseline social support, and (2) determine the influence of intervention type on social support effects. This exploratory analysis of an ongoing assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial (1:1) [NCT04122690] included 40 participants with PD (69.24 ± 7.73 years; 26.3% female; Hoehn & Yahr: 2.28 ± 0.58). We used the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support to categorize participants into high or low support groups. Participants were assessed OFF medication at baseline and 12 weeks using the timed-up-and-go, 360-degree turn, forward, backward, and fast gait speed, 6-min walk, chair stand, and tandem stance tests. Participants were randomized into tango ( = 20) or walking ( = 20) groups and completed 20 sessions within 12 weeks. Left foot tandem stance trended toward improvement regardless of social support ( = 0.06). An interaction among time, support, and intervention indicated that participants in the walking group with low social support improved more on the chair stand test ( = 0.03). No adverse intervention-related events occurred. Overall, high and low social support groups improved similarly following tango or walking interventions. Those in the walking group with low support may have benefited more. Therapeutic intervention targeting physical function regardless of social network in people with PD is important.
身体功能不佳会影响帕金森病（PD）患者的社会支持。运动可以改善身体功能，但社会支持是否会影响干预反应尚不清楚。本研究旨在：（1）研究为期12周的团体运动（探戈或步行）对报告低基线社会支持与高基线社会支持的PD患者身体功能的影响；（2）确定干预类型对社会支持效果的影响。这项对一项正在进行的评估者盲法随机对照试验（1:1）[NCT04122690]的探索性分析纳入了40名PD患者（69.24±7.73岁；26.3%为女性；Hoehn&Yahr分级：2.28±0.58）。我们使用多维感知社会支持量表将参与者分为高支持组或低支持组。在基线和12周时，在不服药状态下对参与者进行计时起立行走、360度转身、向前、向后和快速步态速度、6分钟步行、椅子站立和串联站立测试。参与者被随机分为探戈组（=20）或步行组（=20），并在12周内完成20次训练。无论社会支持如何，左脚串联站立均有改善趋势（=0.06）。时间、支持和干预之间的相互作用表明，社会支持低的步行组参与者在椅子站立测试中的改善更大（=0.03）。未发生与干预相关的不良事件。总体而言，高社会支持组和低社会支持组在探戈或步行干预后改善程度相似。社会支持低的步行组参与者可能获益更多。针对PD患者的身体功能进行治疗干预，无论其社会网络如何，都很重要。
