Door-to-door survey of major neurological diseases in rural Ecuador--the Atahualpa Project: methodological aspects.
We carried out a door-to-door survey to assess the prevalence, incidence, risk factors and possible etiology of major neurological diseases in Atahualpa, a rural village located in the coastal region of Ecuador. A total of 2,548 individuals were interviewed with standardized screening questionnaires to detect suspected cases of epilepsy, stroke and dementia, and they underwent a serum immunoblot test for the detection of anticysticercal antibodies (phase I). Positive individuals and a random sample of negative subjects were examined by neurologists (phase II). Then, patients with clinically confirmed disease and a control group of healthy subjects were further evaluated with complementary examinations (phase III). Here, we describe the methodology of this field study that may be used as a model for the evaluation of neurological disorders in rural communities of developing countries.
Department of Neurological Sciences, Hospital-Clínica Kennedy, Atahualpa, Ecuador. odbp@gye.satnet.net
Oscar H
OH
Del Brutto
Luis
L
Idrovo
Rocío
R
Santibáñez
Enrique
E
Díaz-Calderón
Aurelio
A
Mosquera
Fausto
F
Cuesta
Carlos
C
Navas
D000328:Adult; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020019:Neurocysticercosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires