Do Age and Disease Stage Impact Cognition and Balance in Older Adults and Persons with Parkinson Disease?

Abstract

Background: The combination of age and having Parkinson disease (PD) may result in deficits in cognition and balance over and above that of healthy older adults. Objective: To determine the impact of age and disease on cognition and balance in younger and older adults with and without PD. Methods: Forty people with PD and 28 healthy adults participated. Cognition was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Balance was assessed using the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (MiniBESTest). Results: People with PD performed worse on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and MiniBESTest compared with healthy controls. No main or interaction effects of age were found. Conclusions: Although people with PD scored more poorly on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and MiniBESTest than healthy adults, the results were independent of age in this sample.