Prevalence survey of movement disorders, epilepsy, hypertension and smoking habit in Vejer de la Frontera, Southern Spain-I. Methodology.
A prevalence survey of movement disorders, epilepsy, hypertension and smoking was undertaken in Vejer de la Frontera, Southern Spain in 1988. A validated screening instrument designed for door-to-door tracing of specific disorders was used. Neurological diagnoses were based on: (1) direct anamnesis and examination by a senior neurologist; (2) perusal of existing medical records; and (3) in a proportion of cases, a hospital-based complementary study. This experience suggests that, while door-to-door surveys of neurological disorders have focused on multiple major outcomes: (1) scientific and logistic reasons can exist for screening for specific neurological disorders, and (2) scientific and public health-related interventional objectives can be combined advantageously when such costly investigations are conducted.
Acosta-Varo
J
J
Department of Applied Epidemiology, National Centre for Epidemiology, Carlos III, Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
De Pedro-Cuesta
J
J