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Clinical-oriented Three-dimensional Gait Analysis Method for Evaluating Gait Disorder
Published on: March 4, 2018
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Functional gait disorders: Demographic and clinical correlations
Michele Tinazzi1, Andrea Pilotto2, Francesca Morgante3
1Neurology Unit, Movement Disorders Division, Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
|September 3, 2021
Summary
Functional gait disorders (FGDs) affect over a quarter of functional motor disorder (FMD) patients, often presenting as slow gait or astasia-abasia. Older age, visual symptoms, and somatic symptom disorder are linked to FGDs.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Movement Disorders
Background:
- Functional motor disorders (FMDs) encompass a range of conditions affecting voluntary movement.
- Functional gait disorders (FGDs) are a subtype of FMDs characterized by abnormalities in walking.
- Understanding the prevalence and associated factors of FGDs is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of functional gait disorders (FGDs) among patients with functional motor disorders (FMDs).
- To describe the clinical and demographic features of patients with FGDs.
- To compare patients with FGDs to those with FMDs without FGDs (No-FGDs).
Main Methods:
- A multicenter observational study involving 25 Italian tertiary movement disorders centers.
- Enrollment of patients with a clinically definite diagnosis of FMDs.
- Comprehensive clinical assessment including screening for FGD subtypes and multivariate regression analysis.
Main Results:
- 26.6% of FMD patients (109 out of 410) presented with FGDs.
- The most common FGDs were slow gait (39.4%), astasia-abasia (23.8%), and knee buckling (22%).
- FGDs were associated with older age (OR 1.03), functional visual symptoms (OR 2.19), somatic symptom disorder (OR 2.97), and physiotherapy (OR 1.81).
Conclusions:
- Functional gait disorders (FGDs) are prevalent in functional motor disorder (FMD) patients and can manifest in various forms.
- The association of FGDs with older age, functional visual symptoms, and somatic symptom disorder suggests complex underlying neural mechanisms.
- Further research into these associations may enhance understanding and treatment of FGDs.
