Dance Improves Symptoms, Outcomes in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Dance improves motor, balance, and other symptoms in patients with Parkinson disease, according to a pooled analysis published in the Journal of Neurology.

Researchers searched for clinical trials until April 2020 in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane and pulled data from 14 randomized controlled trials featuring 372 patients with Parkinson disease.

According to study authors, dance demonstrated significant improvement compared with control on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale III.

The mean differences between dance and control were -4.49 points after 3 months, -5.96 after 6 months, and -14.58 after 12 months. After 12 months, the mean difference on the Mini-Balance Evaluation System Test, or Mini-BESTest, also significantly favored dance.

When researchers compared dance with exercise interventions, dance was associated with significantly better gains on the Timed Up and Go test, Berg Balance Scale, and Mini-BESTest.

“In comparison to other types of exercise or no activity, dance improves the symptoms and outcomes in patients with Parkinson’s disease, especially motor symptoms,” concluded researchers. “Dance also has positive effects on balance, functional mobility, and cognition.”

Reference:
Hasan SM, Alshafie S, Hasabo EA, et al. Efficacy of dance for Parkinson’s disease: a pooled analysis of 372 patients. J Neurol. 2022;269(3):1195-1208. doi:10.1007/s00415-021-10589-4