The Associations Between Physical Activity, Sleep, and Mood with Pain in People with Parkinson’s Disease: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nguy, Vanessa^a | Barry, Benjamin K.^{b; c; d} | Moloney, Niamh^e | Hassett, Leanne M.^{a; f} | Canning, Colleen G.^a | Lewis, Simon J.G.^g | Allen, Natalie E.^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia | [b] School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia | [c] Neuroscience Research Australia, Australia | [d] School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia | [e] Department of Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia | [f] School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Australia | [g] The Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Natalie E. Allen, BAppSc(Phty) Hons, PhD, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia, 1825. Tel.: +61 9351 9016; Fax: +61 2 9351 9278; E-mail: natalie.allen@sydney.edu.au.

Abstract: Background:Pain is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD). In general and chronic pain populations, physical inactivity, poor sleep, and anxiety are associated with worse pain. However, little is known about these potential predictors of pain in PD. Objective:This cross-sectional observational study investigated associations between measures of physical activity, sleep, and mood with pain in people with PD. Methods:Pain was measured using the King’s PD Pain Scale and the Brief Pain Inventory (pain severity and interference) in 52 participants with PD. Independent variables were categorised by demographics (age, gender), disease severity (MDS-UPDRS) and duration, central sensitization (Central Sensitization Inventory), physical activity (Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire), sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Results:Univariate regression analyses showed that increased disease severity, longer disease duration, greater central sensitization, increased physical activity, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression were associated with worse pain in one or more pain measures (p < 0.05). Multivariate regression models accounted for 56% of the variance in the King’s Pain Scale, 25% pain severity and 36% in pain interference. Poor sleep independently contributed to worse pain scores in all models (β 0.3–0.4, p < 0.05). Conclusion:Increased physical activity, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression are associated with worse pain scores in people with PD. For optimal management of pain in people with PD, sleep and mood may need to be addressed. Further, the nature of the relationship between physical activity and pain in PD requires further investigation.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, pain, physical activity, sleep, depression, anxiety

DOI: 10.3233/JPD-201938

Journal: Journal of Parkinson's Disease, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 1161-1170, 2020