Self-reported parkinsonian symptoms in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort.
BACKGROUND
Parkinsonian symptoms have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Several studies have reported on the prevalence of signs and symptoms. Symptoms questionnaires can identify potential PD cases for further neurological examination to save resources. They can also provide information about how much of the population reports specific signs and symptoms. The objective of the study was to determine the self-reported prevalence of parkinsonian symptoms from a questionnaire, and to examine their association with age and self-reported Parkinson's disease in a large cohort.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted within a sub-cohort of the EPIC-Norfolk (European Prospective Investigation of Cancer) cohort study.


RESULTS
The prevalence of six self-reported parkinsonian symptoms are reported for 11,539 individuals who answered all symptoms questions (62% of sub-cohort): rest tremor (4%), difficulty starting to walk (4%), difficulty getting out of a chair (6%), slower walking (34%), smaller handwriting (micrographia- 9%), and less acute sense of smell (olfactory dysfunction- 9%). The presence of individual symptoms increased with age except for difficulty getting out of a chair.


CONCLUSIONS
The results support previous findings that the presence of self-reported parkinsonian symptoms is strongly associated with age and self-reported PD diagnosis. The data also provide information regarding the prevalence of symptoms in a large, younger population of adults than previously reported in the literature.
Ishihara
Lianna S
LS
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Cambridge CB2 2SR, UK. lsi20@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Khaw
Kay-Tee
KT
Luben
Robert
R
Bingham
Sheila
S
Welch
Ailsa
A
Day
Nicholas
N
Brayne
Carol
C
D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D044382:Population Groups; D015995:Prevalence; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom