EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE: III. A COMMUNITY-BASED SURVEY

Abstract

Kessler, I. (Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Md, 21205). Epidemiologic studies of Parkinson's disease. III. A community-based survey. Am J Epidemiol 96: 242–254, 1972.—Community-based samples of patients with and without Parkinson's disease in Baltimore from 1967 to 1969 were obtained through the establishment of a representative panel of 112 physicians. The panel was composed of two subpanels: one consisting of all but two neurologists and neurosurgeons in greater Baltimore (“neurological panel”) and the other comprising a stratified sample of other practicing physicians in the area (“nonneurological panel”). Prevalence estimates for Parkinson's Disease in metropolitan Baltimore were generated. The significantly reduced frequency of this condition among Negroes, reported in an earlier hospital-based study, was again observed. The same held for the significantly decreased relative risk of Parkinson's disease among cigarette smokers. Previously noted relationships between parkinsonism and other diseases, such as arteriosclerosis and encephalitis, were verified. When patients referred by neurological and nonneurological panel physicians were compared, their characteristics were generally found to be similar. It was concluded that variability in diagnosis has not substantially affected recent studies on Parkinson's disease.