The prevalence of Parkinson's disease in an area of North Tyneside in the North-East of England.
OBJECTIVE
UK prevalence studies have demonstrated prevalence rates for Parkinson's disease (PD) of 108 to 164 cases per 100,000. we aimed to calculate the prevalence of PD in an area of the North-East of England.


METHODS
A case finding methodology was used to identify cases in North Tyneside with a population of 108,597 at the 2001 UK census.


RESULTS
161 cases were identified giving crude and age-adjusted prevalence estimates of 148 cases (95% CI 124-174) and 139 cases (95% CI 116-162) per 100,000, respectively. The mean age was 74.1 years (range 44-96 years) with mean disease duration of 5.6 years.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of PD in North Tyneside is comparable with that of the rest of the UK. The prevalence of PD in the UK appears not to have changed greatly over the last 30 years.
Porter
Bob
B
Parkinson's Disease Service, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, Tyne and Wear, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. bobwillporter@aol.com
Macfarlane
Rob
R
Unwin
Nigel
N
Walker
Richard
R
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014504:Urban Health
D000978:Antiparkinson Agents