Prevalence of Essential Tremor in a Multiethnic, Community-Based Study in Northern Manhattan, New York, N.Y.

Abstract

Background: Our aims were to: (1) estimate the prevalence of essential tremor (ET) in a community-based study in northern Manhattan, New York, N.Y., USA; (2) compare prevalence across ethnic groups, and (3) provide prevalence estimates for the oldest old. Methods: This study did not rely on a screening questionnaire. Rather, as part of an in-person neurological evaluation, each participant produced several handwriting samples, from which ET diagnoses were assigned. Results: There were 1,965 participants (76.7 ± 6.9 years, range = 66–102 years); 108 had ET [5.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.5–6.5%]. Odds of ET were robustly associated with Hispanic ethnicity versus white ethnicity [odds ratio (OR) = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.03–4.64, p = 0.04] and age (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.03–1.26, p = 0.01), i.e. with every 1 year advance in age, the odds of ET increased by 14%. Prevalence reached 21.7% among the oldest old (age ≥95 years). Conclusions: This study reports a significant ethnic difference in the prevalence of ET. The prevalence of ET was high overall (5.5%) and rose markedly with age so that in the oldest old, more than 1 in 5 individuals had this disease.

Relations between psychological avoidance, symptom severity and embarrassment in essential tremor

“…These results suggest that to address the potentially debilitating effects of embarrassment in ET, both symptom severity and psychological avoidance need to be targeted, with intervention research being required. Limitations of the work include the self-selection of the sample, such that patients who find ET more debilitating are more likely to join or monitor support groups, as well as the lack of expert validation of diagnosis 1,8 .…”

Tremor essencial em guardas de endemias expostos a agrotóxicos: estudo caso-controle

“…É possível que a exigência física ainda influencie nessa proporção. Em média, a idade dos trabalhadores portadores de tremor essencial foi de 51 anos, e está abaixo da média da maioria dos estudos que avaliam essa doença 8,9,11,37,41 . A precocidade da doença é um aspecto frequentemente encontrado em doenças ocupacionais.…”

“…O tremor é o distúrbio do movimento mais frequente na população em geral, sendo que o tremor essencial é uma das doenças neurológicas de maior prevalência 6,7 . Essa prevalência na população geral é estimada em torno de 0,4%, podendo variar conforme sexo e etnia, e tende a aumentar com a idade, podendo chegar a 6,3% entre indivíduos ≥ 65 anos e 21,7% entre aqueles com ≥ 95 anos 8,9 . Já a taxa de incidência foi estimada entre 23,7 e 616 por 100 mil 10 .…”

Recent Advances in Essential Tremor

“…It is characterized by [8][9][10][11][12] Hz action tremor of the arms; head tremor and other cranial tremors may also occur, as well as limb and gait ataxia and subtle eye motion abnormalities [1][2][3][4][5]. The prevalence and incidence increase with age, so that more than 20% of individuals over 90 years have ET [1,6].…”

“…The traditional view of ET as a monosymptomatic condition is being replaced by an appreciation of the spectrum of clinical features and clinical associations, with both motor and non-motor features [7][8][9][10][11]. It is even possible that ET might be a family of diseases, unified by the presence of kinetic tremor, but further characterized by etiological, clinical and pathological heterogeneity [10].…”