Prevalence of Parkinson's disease and related disorders in the elderly population of greater Beijing, China.
A lower prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) has been reported for Chinese populations, but it is unclear whether this observation reflects a lower disease risk or is an artifact of case finding. We ascertained the prevalence of PD in elderly residents of an area that was a composite of 27 urban and rural communities of Greater Beijing, China. A team of university neurologists went door-to-door throughout the study area, examining 5,743 residents (at age 55 years or older) and made preliminary determinations of which residents had PD or other types of parkinsonism. Final determinations were made after follow-up and reevaluation of those persons who were either deemed to have parkinsonism or were suspected of having the condition (n = 144; median follow-up = 40 months). Based on stringent diagnostic criteria, 110 persons were identified to have parkinsonism, of whom 64 (58%) had PD. The prevalence of PD increased with advancing age and was about 1% overall and for each gender. In rural communities, 22 persons had PD, but 20 persons (91%) were first diagnosed for this condition by the study neurologists. The prevalence figures obtained in this study are similar to some of the highest prevalence figures reported in the West.
Zhang
Zhen-Xin
ZX
Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Anderson
Dallas W
DW
Huang
Jue-Bin
JB
Li
Hui
H
Hong
Xia
X
Wei
Jing
J
Yang
En-Li
EL
Maraganore
Demetrius M
DM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*