Prevalence of Parkinson's disease in Sydney.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) in Bankstown, Sydney, using the same methodology as a previous study in Randwick, Sydney, Australia (1998-1999).


METHODS
Twenty census districts (CDs) for the Bankstown local government area were randomly selected. Research personnel door-knocked every household within the CDs to locate people aged > or =55 years. A structured questionnaire (containing four screening questions for PD) was administered to those agreeing to participate. Screened positive participants were invited to come for a clinical examination. This is a continuation of the previous study and data have been combined.


RESULTS
Combining data for Bankstown and Randwick gave 1028 participants; crude prevalence, 780 per 100,000 (CI: 546-1077). In Bankstown, there were 501 participants aged > or =55 years (response rate 70%); 135 were screened positive with 101 (74.8%) agreeing to a clinical examination. The prevalence of PD in the Bankstown community was 3.4% (17 of 501) (95% CI: 1.98-5.43) for those aged > or =55 years; crude prevalence 776 per 100,000 (CI: 452-1241).


CONCLUSIONS
The combined results of two Sydney studies appear to indicate that Sydney has one of the highest prevalence estimates of PD in developed countries.
Chan
D K Y
DK
Department of Aged Care and Rehabilitation, Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, Bankstown, NSW, Australia. daniel.chan@swsahs.nsw.gov.au
Cordato
D
D
Karr
M
M
Ong
B
B
Lei
H
H
Liu
J
J
Hung
W T
WT
D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*