Pedestrian safety in patients with Parkinson's disease: A case-control study

Kristin J Ford; Allen Joop; Raima A Memon; Kimberly H Wood; Karlene Ball; Gary R Cutter; David C Schwebel; Amy W Amara

doi:10.1002/mds.27124

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Pedestrian safety in patients with Parkinson's disease: A case-control study

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Pedestrian safety in patients with Parkinson's disease: A case-control study

Kristin J Ford, Allen Joop, Raima A Memon, Kimberly H Wood, Karlene Ball, Gary R Cutter, David C Schwebel and Amy W Amara

Movement disorders, Vol.32(12), pp.1748-1755

12/2017

DOI: 10.1002/mds.27124

PMCID: PMC5732050

PMID: 28976016

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Abstract

Patients with Parkinson's disease experience debilitating motor symptoms as well as nonmotor symptoms, such as cognitive dysfunction and sleep disorders. This constellation of symptoms has the potential to negatively influence pedestrian safety. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of motor symptoms, daytime sleepiness, impaired vigilance, and cognitive dysfunction with pedestrian behavior in patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy older adults. Fifty Parkinson's disease and 25 control participants were evaluated within a virtual reality pedestrian environment and completed assessments of motor performance, daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), vigilance (psychomotor vigilance task), and visual processing speed (Useful Field of View) outside the virtual reality environment. The primary outcome measure was time to contact, defined as the time remaining until a participant would have been hit by an approaching vehicle while crossing the virtual street. The virtual reality pedestrian environment was feasible in all participants. Patients with Parkinson's disease demonstrated riskier pedestrian behavior compared with controls. Among Parkinson's disease participants, walking speed, objective measures of vigilance, and visual processing speed were correlated with pedestrian behavior, with walking speed the strongest predictor of time to contact, explaining 48% of the variance. Vigilance explained an additional 8% of the variance. In controls, vigilance was also important for street-crossing safety, but older age was the most robust predictor of pedestrian safety. Walking speed is associated with unsafe pedestrian behavior in patients with Parkinson's disease. In contrast, age was the strongest predictor of pedestrian safety in healthy older adults. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Safety

Virtual Reality

Age Factors

Aged

Attention - physiology

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - etiology

Case-Control Studies

Cross-Sectional Studies

Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - diagnosis

Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - etiology

Female

Humans

Male

Middle Aged

Parkinson Disease - complications

Pedestrians

Walking - physiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Pedestrian safety in patients with Parkinson's disease: A case-control study
Creators: Kristin J Ford - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Allen Joop - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Raima A Memon - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Kimberly H Wood - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Karlene Ball - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Gary R Cutter - University of Alabama at Birmingham
David C Schwebel - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Amy W Amara - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Movement disorders, Vol.32(12), pp.1748-1755
DOI: 10.1002/mds.27124
PMID: 28976016
PMCID: PMC5732050
NLM abbreviation: Mov Disord
ISSN: 0885-3185
eISSN: 1531-8257
Grant note: P30 AG031054 / NIA NIH HHS TL1 TR000141 / NCATS NIH HHS R01 AG021958 / NIA NIH HHS T32 HD071866 / NICHD NIH HHS P30 AG022838 / NIA NIH HHS TL1 TR001864 / NCATS NIH HHS K23 NS080912 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 12/2017
Academic Unit: Research Administration
Record Identifier: 9984949191302771

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