Phase angle, muscle mass, and functionality in patients with Parkinson’s disease

• Published in: Neurological sciences Vol. 43; no. 7; pp. 4203 - 4209
• Main Authors: do Nascimento, Taís Galdêncio, Paes-Silva, Rebecca Peixoto, da Luz, Marcella Campos Lima, Cabral, Poliana Coelho, de Araújo Bezerra, Gleyce Kelly, Gomes, Andressa Caroline Burgos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.07.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Body mass index; Gait; Geriatrics; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Movement disorders; Muscle strength; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Nutritional status; Original Article; Parkinson's disease; Patients; Physical activity; Psychiatry; Risk factors; Sarcopenia; Skeletal muscle; Aging; Gait speed; Muscle strength; Parkinson’s disease; Electrical impedance
• ISSN: 1590-1874; 1590-3478
• DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-05975-3

Objective To evaluate the association of phase angle (PA) with clinical and nutritional aspects in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) treated in an outpatient clinic in northeastern Brazil. Methods This is a case series study involving adults and the elderly with PD of both genders. We collected data such as stage, severity, and time of diagnosis of the disease, muscle strength, gait speed, and level of physical activity. We evaluated the nutritional status using body mass index, calf circumference, skeletal appendicular muscle mass index, and the presence of sarcopenia. We obtained the PA through the analysis by electrical bioimpedance. After obtaining the result of the division between reactance and resistance, with later transformation into degrees, we multiplied the result by 180/ π . Results We evaluated 77 individuals with a mean age of 65.4 ± 8.9 years. 63.6% of them had reduced PA values and 19.7% of them had sarcopenia. Age ( rho  =  − 0.423; p  =  < 0.001) was inversely correlated with PA. Skeletal appendicular muscle mass index ( rho  = 0.251; p  = 0.028), pressure force ( rho  = 0.240; p  = 0.035), and gait speed ( rho  = 0.323; p  = 0.005) showed a direct correlation with age. When adjusted for confounding factors, only age remained associated with PA ( p  = 0.012). Conclusion Most individuals had reduced PA, and only age was associated with this result. Aging is a risk factor for reducing muscle mass and physical disability in PD. Although this study indicates a relationship between PA, age, muscle mass, and functionality, further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.