title: Clinical characteristics of Parkinson's disease among Inuit in Greenland and inhabitants of the Faroe Islands and Als (Denmark).
abstract: In earlier studies, we found high age-adjusted prevalences of Parkinson's disease (PD) in the Faroe Islands (209 per 100,000 inhabitants) and in Greenland (187.5 per 100,000 inhabitants) compared to the age-adjusted prevalence on the island of Als in the southern part of Denmark (98.3 per 100,000 inhabitants). We thoroughly examined patients with suspected parkinsonism using internationally accepted diagnostic criteria. In the present study, we found no significant clinical differences between patients with PD in the three areas, despite this high difference in prevalence. However, comparing the age at examination and age at treatment, the patients were younger in Greenland, a higher proportion of patients had cognitive decline, and they had a higher mean Hoehn and Yahr rating score, although they received a lower levodopa dose. A higher proportion of the patients in Greenland were newly diagnosed than in the other two areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sonderborg Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wermuth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Odense University Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bünger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sonderborg Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Von Weitzel-Mudersback
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pakkenberg
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health Ageing Research Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jeune
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006116:Greenland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D018476:Hypokinesia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis; D004930:Inuit; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014202:Tremor / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D007306:Insecticides