Mind-Body Exercises for Non-motor Symptoms of Patients With Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Author: Kai Wang1, Kunbin Li1, Peiming Zhang2, Shuqi Ge3, Xiaopeng Wen1, Zhiyuan Wu1, Xianli Yao1, Bing Jiao1, Pingge Sun1, Peipei Lv4, Liming Lu2
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Neurological Rehabilitation, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. <sup>2</sup> Clinical Research and Data Center, South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China. <sup>3</sup> Department of Rehabilitation, Zhuhai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhuhai, China. <sup>4</sup> Department of Medical Imaging, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Conference/Journal: Front Aging Neurosci
Date published: 2021 Dec 3
Other: Volume ID: 13 , Pages: 770920 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.770920. , Word Count: 329


Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of mind-body exercise on global cognitive function, depression, sleep disorders, fatigue level, and quality of life (QOL) in a Parkinson's disease (PD) population. Methods: Total six English and Chinese databases were searched for articles published up to May 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating mind-body excises on non-motor symptoms of PD were included. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality, and we defined high-quality studies as having a low risk of bias in four or more domains. Global cognitive function was considered the primary outcome and was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The secondary outcomes included QOL, fatigue, depression, and sleep quality, which were measured using the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), 16-item Parkinson's Disease Fatigue Scale (PFS-16), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and revised Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS-2), respectively. Subgroup analyses were conducted for global cognitive function and QOL to assess the optimal treatment measure across the various mind-body exercises. Results: Fourteen RCTs with 404 patients were finally included in the meta-analysis. Eight (57.14%) studies were of high quality. The pooled results showed that mind-body exercises generally had a significant advantage over the control intervention in improving global cognitive function (MD = 1.68; P = 0.0008). The dose subgroup analysis revealed that the low dose (60-120 min per week) and moderate dose (120-200 min per week) significantly increased MoCA scores compared with the control group (MD = 2.11, P = 0.01; MD = 1.27, P = 0.02, respectively). The duration subgroup analysis indicated a significant difference in the effect of the duration (6-10 and >15 weeks) on increasing MoCA scores compared with the control group (MD = 3.74, P < 0.00001; MD = 1.45, P = 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Mind-body exercise may improve global cognitive function, sleep quality, and QOL in the PD population. In addition, low to moderate doses and appropriate durations significantly improved global cognitive function. Clinical Trial Registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [CRD42021275522].

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; global cognitive function; meta-analysis; mind–body exercises; non-motor symptoms.

PMID: 36226304 PMCID: PMC9549381 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.770920