Abstract:
Purpose: Activities of daily living mostly require dual-task (DT) performance. Functional status in daily living activities in Parkinson's disease (PD) may be affected from the interaction between motor and cognitive function. This study aimed to investigate the effect of motor and cognitive DT on hand function in patients with PD.
Methods: Thirty-three patients with PD aged between 50 and 80 years and age and sex-matched 32 healthy individuals were included in the study. A nine-hole peg test (NHPT) was used to evaluate hand function. Motor DT and cognitive DT were assessed using the rhythmic tapping of foot and seven subtraction tests during NHPT. The results of NHPT were recorded in seconds under single task, motor DT, and cognitive DT. The percentage of DT interference was calculated. Measurements were repeated for the dominant and non-dominant hand.
Results: In the PD group, dominant and non-dominant hand function during both motor and cognitive DT decreased more than the control group (p<0.05). In both groups, cognitive DT decreased hand function more prominently than motor DT (p<0.05). When the DT interference percentages were compared, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of motor DT interference (p>0.05), whereas the interference in the PD group was higher in cognitive DT interference than the control group (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Hand function of patients with PD decreases under DT conditions. The decrease is apparent, particularly during the cognitive DT. Among the rehabilitation objectives of patients with PD should also include the enhancement of DT performance during hand function. Addition of DToriented exercises, primarily cognitive task, to the rehabilitation program of patients with PD, may be useful to improve hand function in patients with PD.