EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Abstract

Kessler, I. I. (Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Md. 21205). Epidemiologic studies of Parkinson's disease. II. A hospital-based survey. Am J Epidemiol 95: 308–318, 1972.— All Baltimore hospital patients discharged with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease over a recent 3-year period and a matching control group were interviewed and their hospital records were evaluated by physicians. The disease was significantly less frequent among Negroes of each sex, irrespective of age. This observation, combined with the depigmentation known to occur in the substantia nigra of parkinsonians, suggests that the reduced risk among Negroes might be related to their increased melanin pigmentation. A striking absence of buccal cavity/pharynx cancer and a near-absence of lung cancer among male parkinsonians are consistent with the relative infrequency of smoking among patients with Parkinson's disease. Previously noted relationships of this disease with cerebrovascular disease, arteriosclerosis and encephalitis were verified, but the reported association with peptic ulcer could not be confirmed. Of the 186 parkinsonians who died during the investigation, only 72 (58.7%) had Parkinson's disease mentioned on the death certificate.