• Xiaoying Lin, Yanming Zhang, Xiaowei Zhang, Xi Chen, Jianhua Liu, Lei Yang, and PangMarco Yiu ChungMYCDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China..
• Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China.
• Chin. Med. J. 2024 Jul 5; 137 (13): 153515431535-1543.

BackgroundThis systematic review aimed to examine whether dual-task (DT) training was superior to single-task (ST) training in improving DT walking, balance and cognitive functions for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).MethodsLiterature search was performed in the following electronic databases: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Metstr covering inception to May 10, 2023. And in order to facilitate comparison across trials, we calculated the effect size (Hedges' g) of gait, balance, cognitive, and other parameters under both ST and DT conditions, using the mean change score and standard deviation (SD) of change score of the experimental and control groups. Randomized controlled trials that examined the effects of DT motor and cognitive training in individuals with Parkinson's disease were included for this systematic review.ResultsA total of 214 participants recruited from six articles (actually five trials) were involved in this review. In terms of walking ability, only double support time and stride time variability showed significant between-group difference (Hedges' g = 0.34, 0.18, respectively). Compared to ST training group, DT training group had a more improvement effect in laboratory balance measurement (Hedges' g = 0.18, 1.25), but no significant improvement in clinical balance measurement. No significant between-group differences were observed, thus its training effect on cognitive function was inconclusive.ConclusionsThe DT training failed to achieve promising results better than ST training in improving DT walking and balance functions for individuals with PD. Any firm conclusion cannot be drawn at present, due to the limited number of eligible publications. Larger sample size and high-quality studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of DT training in individuals with PD.Copyright © 2024 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

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