Exercise Engagement and its influence on Quality of Life Among People with Parkinson’s Disease Over One Year

Background: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease that affects nearly 1 million individuals in the United States. PD is characterized by motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia and tremor, as well as non-motor symptoms, both of which can reduce well-being and quality of life (QoL). Exercise has been shown to help improve both motor and non-motor symptoms in people with PD. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of habitual exercise engagement on QoL in people with PD over one year. Methods: Participants included adults with a physician diagnosis of PD. This observational study assessed QoL at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year. QoL was assessed with standardized self-report questionnaires: Neuro-QoL Positive Affect is a 9 item self-report questionnaire that assesses positive emotional feelings and satisfaction of self. T-Scores range from 26.3 to 68.0; higher scores are more favorable. Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) is a 39-item self-report questionnaire with 8 dimensions of functioning and well-being. Scores range from 0 to 100; lower scores are more favorable. Exercise during the previous 3 months was assessed at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year with a self-report questionnaire that listed 44 exercise activities. For each activity the participant checked, a subsequent question asked how frequent they performed that activity (times/week or times/month). The intensity of each activity, measured in METs (Metabolic Equivalents of Task), was obtained from the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities for adults (< 60 y/o) and older adults (60+ y/o). Exercise engagement was calculated for each participant by multiplying the frequency of each activity by its MET value, summing all activities, and expressing the total as METs/week. A linear mixed-effects model was used to investigate the impact of exercise (METs/week) on each questionnaire score over 1 year. Covariates in the model included age, sex, years since PD diagnosis, and comorbidities. The list of comorbidities included acid reflux, arthritis, asthma, cancer, depression, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, pulmonary disease, sleep apnea, and stroke. Results: 129 participants completed the questionnaires and are included in the analysis. The majority of participants resided in Missouri (70.5%), followed by Illinois (20.2%), with the remaining participants located throughout the United States (9.3%). Participant characteristics included men (57.4%) and women (42.6%) with a mean (±SD) age of 67.9±9.0 years (range 28-85 years). Participants had been diagnosed with PD 6.8±5.4 years earlier, on average, (range 0-24 years) and had 1.9±1.8 comorbidities per participant (range 0-9 comorbidities) based on self-report. The average body mass index (BMI) was 25.9±4.9 kg/m 2 (range 16.7-46.9 kg/m 2 ); the weight status distribution was 3.27% underweight (BMI < 18.5), 45.1% normal weight (BMI 18.5 to < 25.0), 33.6% overweight (BMI 25.0 to < 30.0), and 18.0% obese (BMI ≥30.0). Exercise participation averaged 28.6±21.8 METs/week at baseline and 27.5±22.1 METs/week at 1 year. Scores on the Neuro-QoL Positive Affect and PDQ-39 averaged 53.1±7.8 and 20.3±13.5 at baseline and 52.4±7.5 and 22.1±15.6 at 1 year, respectively. Exercise had a significant positive association with Neuro-QoL Positive Affect (effect 0.02, p = 0.03). No significance was observed for the relationship of exercise and PDQ-39 (effect -0.01, p = 0.39). Discussion: These results suggest that exercise contributes to positive emotional feelings and sense of self, which are important aspects of QoL in people with PD. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.