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Epidemiological Study and Clinical Profile of Parkinson’s Disease in the Assiut Governorate, Egypt: A Community-Based Study

Research Abstract
Background: Few comprehensive epidemiological studies of the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been undertaken in Arab countries, and none has been carried out in Egypt. A community-based survey was conducted in the Assiut Governorate to estimate the prevalence and clinical profile of PD. Methods: A community-based study was carried out, with random sampling of 7 districts, involving 6,498 inhabitants. Out of this sample, 578 subjects dropped out, leaving 3,066 males (51.8%) and 2,854 females (48.2%). There were 3,660 urban residents (61.8%) and 2,260 (38.2%) from the rural community. Patients were evaluated using a screening questionnaire, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale and the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale for PD. Results: Thirty-nine subjects were found to have parkinsonism, giving a crude prevalence rate of 659/100,000 inhabitants. Of these subjects, 33 were diagnosed with PD (21 males), with a mean age of 66.9 8 8.4 years, a crude prevalence rate of 557/100,000 and an age-specific prevalence rate ( 6 50 years old) of 2,748/100,000. There were more males than females (3,395 vs. 1,989/100,000), but the difference was not signifi-cant. The highest age-specific prevalence rate was recorded among subjects 70–79 years old (7,263/100,000). There was a significantly higher prevalence among rural than urban inhabitants (973 vs. 301/100,000) and among illiterate than literate persons (1,103 vs. 280/100,000). The clinical profile of our patients was similar to that of other populations but was characterized by a high prevalence of mood/cognition dysfunction and gastrointestinal symptoms; there were few reported perceptual problems. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of PD was high, especially in older adults.
Research Authors
Eman M. Khedr a Ghada S. Al Attar b Mahmoud R. Kandil a Nageh F. Kamel a
Noha Abo Elfetoh a Mohamed A. Ahmed a
Research Journal
Neuroepidemiology
Research Pages
pp. 154–163
Research Publisher
NULL
Research Rank
1
Research Vol
Vol. 38
Research Website
NULL
Research Year
2012