Half of Patients With Parkinson Disease Fall During Study Observation

Nearly half of study participants with Parkinson disease fell at least once during the course of their studies, according to meta-analysis results published in Clinical Rehabilitation.

“Falls can be highly debilitating and have an important negative impact on the quality of life of patients with Parkinson disease,” wrote a research team from Belgium.

The systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to gauge the proportion of patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease with at least 1 fall, as well as those with 2 or more falls. Some 54 studies, spanning 7546 participants, reporting on fall prevalence were included in the analysis.

According to random-effects meta-analysis, the pooled rate of patients who experienced at least 1 fall during the study was 0.48. The pooled rate of patients who experienced 2 or more falls during their study was 0.32.

“Pooled estimates suggest that one in two persons with Parkinson disease falls at least once, and one in three falls at least twice within the registered time period,” researchers wrote.

Fall rates between studies differed substantially, however. 

 “Future research on falls in Parkinson disease is encouraged to implement best practice recommendations to monitor and report fall data,” researchers wrote.

Reference:
Van Bladel A, Herssens N, Bouche K, Cambier D, Maes L, Lefeber N. Proportion of falls reported in persons with Parkinson’s disease: a meta-analysis. Clin Rehabil. Published online February 27, 2023. doi:10.1177/02692155231158565