IMPACT OF COGNITION ON THE OCCURRENCE OF FALLS IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Resumo

Introduction: Falls are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), happening to up to 68% of these individuals. Patients with PD present motor and gait impairment that increase the fall risks by three times. This study aimed to compare cognitive impairment and the occurrence of falls in PD patients. Methods: Retrospective and cross-sectional study through data collection in electronic medical records searching for the occurrence of falls (dichotomous and coded responses: 1=yes and 2=no) in the period of up to three months of cognitive assessment. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, and inferential analyses (Mann-Whitney U Test) were performed to compare the cognitive tests’ scores between the two groups (who answered Yes/fallers and non-fallers). A significance level of p<0.05 was adopted. Results: There was no difference between the subgroups (fallers=23; non-fallers=60) regarding age (p=0.28), schooling (0.51) and years of disease progression (0.99). No difference was observed between the subgroups for most cognitive variables, except Trail Making Test (B and delta). There was a tendency to differ in Addenbrooke's cognitive examination III (ACE-III) (total and attention and memory domains), with lower performance for the fallers subgroup. Worse functionality and more frequent cognitive issues were observed in those with reported falls. Conclusion: It was observed that cognitive measures, especially attentional and memory measures, interfere with episodes of falls in patients with PD. It is necessary to increase the sample and balance between the subgroups for further evidence of these results.