Prevalence of essential tremor in three elderly populations of central Spain

Abstract

Although essential tremor (ET) is considered the most prevalent adult movement disorder, the available information on its prevalence and distribution worldwide is not completely understood. We investigated the prevalence and distribution of ET in three elderly Spanish populations using a door-to-door, two-phase approach. A brief screening instrument was administered on May 1, 1994 to subjects over 64 years old taken from the census of one urban municipality of Greater Madrid (quarter of Margaritas, Getafe), one urban district of Madrid (Lista), and one rural site (Arévalo county, Avila) (N = 5278). Study subjects were limited to those who screened positively (N = 472). To increase reliability, each patient was examined by 3 experienced neurologists, and was classified as having ET only when all 3 neurologists agreed (183 of 472). The present study was part of a large-scale epidemiological survey of neurological diseases, and served as a baseline investigation in a 3-year incidence study. Accordingly, 41 ET patients were identified when evaluating subjects who had screened positively for dementia, stroke, or parkinsonism, despite the fact that they had screened negatively for tremor; furthermore, 32 additional ET prevalent cases were detected when evaluating subjects who had screened positively for tremor in the second cross-sectional study (May 1, 1997), although they had screened negatively for tremor in the first cross-sectional study. We identified 256 persons (152 women, 104 men) with ET; of these, 87 patients (34.0%) reported having an affected relative. Two hundred and four (79.7%) of the subjects with ET were detected through this screening and had not been diagnosed previously. The prevalence of ET was 4.8% (95% CI = 4.2-5.4) for the total population; 4.6% (95% CI = 3.7-5.4) in men and 5.0% (95% CI = 4.2-5.8) in women. Age-specific prevalence increased with advancing age for both men and women. Despite the variability in worldwide data, ET is a frequently encountered disorder in elderly people. Furthermore, as ET may be seen as a relatively benign condition, a large proportion of patients may never seek neurological attention.

A meta-analysis of outcomes and complications of magnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasound in the treatment of essential tremor

“…24 Increasing age has been consistently associated with the incidence and prevalence of ET. 2 The tremor in ET is both kinetic and postural, and may involve other parts of the body, like the head, voice, jaw, tongue, or legs. 7 The primary therapy for ET is medical treatment.…”

Statins and Cognitive Functioning in the Elderly: A Population-Based Study

“…Data for these analyses were derived from the Neurological Disorders in Central Spain (NEDICES) study, a longitudinal, population-based survey of the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of major ageassociated conditions of the elderly, including Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, stroke, and dementia [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Detailed accounts of the study population and sampling methods have been published [23][24][25].…”

Long sleep duration in elders without dementia increases risk of dementia mortality (NEDICES)

“…To address this question, we utilized data from the Neurological Disorders in Central Spain (NEDICES) Study, in which participants were followed for a median of 12.5 years, after which the death certificates of those who died were examined. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] METHODS Study population. Data were derived from the NEDICES Study, a longitudinal, population-based survey of the epidemiology of major age-associated conditions of the elderly, including Parkinson disease, essential tremor, stroke, and dementia.…”