An Estimate of the Prevalence of Dementia in Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

A review of the records for evidence of dementia using criteria adapted from the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in every patient (hospitalized and outpatient) with parkinsonism at a major medical center during an 18-month period revealed an overall prevalence of 10.9% in 339 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Demented patients were older, had a later age at onset of motor manifestations, and a more rapid progression of physical disability than nondemented patients. Duration of illness and levodopa use and the presence of tremor or depression were similar in demented and nondemented patients. Demented patients more often responded poorly or developed adverse effects to levodopa than nondemented patients. When Parkinson's disease began after age 70 years, dementia was noted over three times more frequently than when the disease began at an earlier age. The age-specific prevalence rate of dementia for patients older than 70 years was more than twice that for younger patients. Moreover, the number of records with evidence for dementia with idiopathic Parkinson's disease was 3.75 times greater than expected in comparison with data from a study of the prevalence of dementia in the elderly.