title: The global prevalence of Huntington's disease: a systematic review and discussion.
abstract: The ascertained prevalence of Huntington's disease (HD) increased significantly following the provision of diagnostic testing. A systematic review was conducted to estimate the prevalence of HD in the post-diagnostic testing era. 22 studies with original data pertaining to the prevalence of HD (1993-2015) were included and analyzed. A global meta-analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity in study methods and geographical variation. The prevalence of HD is significantly lower in Asian populations compared with western Europe, North America and Australia. The global variation in HD prevalence is partly explained by the average CAG repeat lengths and frequency of different HTT gene haplotypes in the general population. Understanding the prevalence of HD has significant implications for healthcare resource planning.
authors: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK.
authors: Sheharyar Sajjad
authors: SS
authors: Baig
authors: School of Health & Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Strong
authors: Department of Clinical Genetics, Sheffield Children's Hospital, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield, S5 7AU, UK.
authors: Oliver Wj
authors: OW
authors: Quarrell
mesh_terms: D016206:Databases, Bibliographic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Huntington's disease; epidemiology