Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Prevalence of Parkinson's disease in Sydney.

Chan DK, Cordato D, Karr M, Ong B, Lei H, Liu J, Hung WT

Department of Aged Care and Rehabilitation, Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, Bankstown, NSW, Australia. daniel.chan@swsahs.nsw.gov.au

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) in Bankstown, Sydney, using the same methodology as a previous study in Randwick, Sydney, Australia (1998-1999). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Twenty census districts (CDs) for the Bankstown local government area were randomly selected. Research personnel door-knocked every household within the CDs to locate people aged > or =55 years. A structured questionnaire (containing four screening questions for PD) was administered to those agreeing to participate. Screened positive participants were invited to come for a clinical examination. This is a continuation of the previous study and data have been combined. RESULTS: Combining data for Bankstown and Randwick gave 1028 participants; crude prevalence, 780 per 100,000 (CI: 546-1077). In Bankstown, there were 501 participants aged > or =55 years (response rate 70%); 135 were screened positive with 101 (74.8%) agreeing to a clinical examination. The prevalence of PD in the Bankstown community was 3.4% (17 of 501) (95% CI: 1.98-5.43) for those aged > or =55 years; crude prevalence 776 per 100,000 (CI: 452-1241). CONCLUSION: The combined results of two Sydney studies appear to indicate that Sydney has one of the highest prevalence estimates of PD in developed countries.

Published 14 December 2004 in Acta Neurol Scand, 111(1): 7-11.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Parkinson's Disease Research Today. All Rights Reserved.