title: Screening for and Estimating the Prevalence of Essential Tremor: A Random-Digit Dialing-Based Study in the New York Metropolitan Area.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are nearly no published screening instruments for essential tremor (ET). This is a remarkable fact, given its high prevalence. Here, we assess the validity of a screening questionnaire and hand-drawn spirals and also estimate the prevalence of ET in a community sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred nineteen study subjects living in a geographically defined area in the New York metropolitan area were contacted using a random digit telephone dialing scheme. Seven tremor screening questions were administered and each subject drew 2 spirals. A movement disorders neurologist assigned ET diagnoses based on neurological examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The spirals were a more sensitive test than the screening questions (73.7 vs. 26.3%); specificities of the 2 tests were similar (95.5 vs. 96.8%). The combination of both tests was not superior to the use of spirals alone. The positive predictive value of the spiral test was 43.8%. The crude prevalence of ET, 19 of 419 (4.53%, 95% CI 2.92-6.97), increased with age (p = 0.049).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A screening spiral was more sensitive than a screening questionnaire for ET and was moderately sensitive. Nearly one-half of subjects who screened positive had ET; therefore, when screening a population, one can expect the number of true positives and false positives to be roughly equivalent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., USA.
authors.forename: Elan D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Factor-Litvak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult