Exploring the role of frailty and sarcopenia in persons with Parkinson's disease: a mixed-methods study
Parkinson's disease
Current methodology as of 17/02/2026: This will be a cross-sectional study, aiming to identify the prevalence of sarcopenia and frailty in PwP at a single hospital site in Ireland. Three work packages are proposed to achieve this. Work Package 1: Scoping Review The objective for this work package is to map how frailty and sarcopenia are conceptualised and measured in PD research. Scoping review will have two sections 1. Prevalence and characteristics of frailty and sarcopenia in PD and 2. Comparison of key domains of Frailty, Sarcopenia, and PD instruments using qualitative content analysis as described by Elo and Kyngäs in 2008 This work package will help to clarify conceptual overlaps and inconsistency in the literature. The conceptual mapping which will be conducted within the scoping review will provide a foundation for later integration with quantitative and qualitative findings, supporting the development of a higher-order conceptual framework. Estimated timeframe: 6 months Work Package 2: Quantitative Study The objectives for this work package will be to estimate the prevalence of frailty and sarcopenia in PwP in Ireland and examine the differences in clinical, functional, and disease-related characteristics between frail/ sarcopenic and robust PwP Data will be collected in one visit, assessing baseline demographics, PD-specific characteristics, and other clinical assessments as detailed below. PwP will also be assessed for the presence of frailty and sarcopenia based on validated tools to establish a potential diagnosis of either or both in PwP. Participants will then be allocated to subgroups, including non-frail (PwP-nF), non-sarcopenic (PwP-nS), frail (PwP-F), sarcopenic (PwP-S) for the purposes of data analysis. Estimated timeframe: 18 months (will run concurrently with WP3) Work Package 3: Qualitative Study The objective of this work package is to explore the lived experiences PwP living with frailty and sarcopenia. PwP will be invited to particip
1. Adults aged more than 18 years old 2. Diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease
1. Pregnant or breastfeeding participants 2. Significantly impaired functional ability, likely to affect their ability to attend for assessment 3. Significant cognitive impairment, likely to affect their ability to provide informed consent 4. Parkinsonism, not classified as idiopathic PD 5. Life expectancy of less than six months or receiving palliative care input 6. Participants with implanted medical devices such as pacemakers, deep brain stimulators and defibrillators will be excluded from the sarcopenia sub-arm due to potential interaction with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)