Self-reported activity in veterans with Parkinson disease (PD) is low, with <15% of subjects meeting recommended activity targets, a recent study found. Qualitative analysis of barriers and motivators revealed that although many veterans enjoy the social aspects of group exercise, they may not feel comfortable in general exercise classes aimed at younger participants without chronic illnesses. Participants completed the Physical Activity Scale in the Elderly (PASE). Compliance with American Heart Association (AHA) recommendations was assessed. Veterans also completed the Exercise Perceptions Questionnaire (EPQ), assessing knowledge, barriers, and motivators of activity. Free-text barriers/motivators were analyzed by the overlapping clusters method. Researchers found:

• 75 veterans were recruited; mean age (standard deviation [SD]) was 70.5 (8.2) years and mean disease duration (SD) was 5.4 (5.2) years.
• Raw median PASE was 120.4; age-adjusted median PASE was 135.3.
• Only 9 veterans (14.3%) were AHA-compliant.
• There were trends toward negative association between PASE and UPDRS-3 (r = −0.24) and between PASE and PDQ-8 (r = −0.23).
• 63 subjects (84%) completed the EPQ; 27 (42.9%) preferred scheduled exercise, and only 33 (53.2%) reported that they preferred to exercise with others.