Technologies used in Parkinson’s disease: a meta-analysis of their effect on health-related quality of life

TL;DR

This study finds that various technologies used in Parkinson’s disease can improve patients’ health-related quality of life.

Contribution

A meta-analysis evaluating the impact of specific technologies on health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients.

Findings

mHealth, robotic-assisted, telerehabilitation, virtual reality, and wearable technologies show potential to improve HRQoL in PD patients.

The meta-analysis included 34 RCTs with low risk of bias and no publication bias detected.

Results suggest these technologies can enhance daily living activities and disease management for Parkinson’s patients.

Abstract

The results of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses in the literature on whether technologies used in Parkinson’s disease (PD) improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are varied, making it difficult to reach a definitive conclusion. Therefore, the aim was to investigate the effect of technologies used in PD on HRQoL according to moderator variables.

The mean effect size was calculated using either the fixed-effects or random-effects model. Assessment timepoints, technology and scale types were used as moderator variables. Technology types: Mobile health (mHealth), robotic-assisted, telerehabilitation, virtual reality and wearable technologies. The Egger’s regression method was used to assess publication bias. The quality assessment used the risk of bias (RoB) 2 method. The results of the meta-analysis were evaluated clinically and statistically.

The meta-analysis included 34 RCTs. RCTs were published in the form of thesis and article publications between 2012 and 2025. The control group had 709 patients, the experimental group 759. The RoB 2 method indicates that the majority of RCTs are low risk of bias. According to the Egger’s regression method, there is no publication bias. According to the results of the meta-analysis, mHealth, robotic-assisted, telerehabilitation, virtual reality and wearable technologies used in PD have the potential to improve patients’ HRQoL.

The technologies used in PD have the potential to improve patients’ HRQoL. These results could provide significant opportunities for effectively managing the disease and its treatment, as well as improving patients’ daily living activities.

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