J Korean Med Sci.  2014 Dec;29(12):1694-1698. 10.3346/jkms.2014.29.12.1694.

The Prevalence of Essential Tremor in Elderly Koreans

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Neurology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
  • 2Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea. jongmin1@snu.ac.kr
  • 3Department of Neurology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, Korea.
  • 4Department of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
  • 5Department of Neurology, Chungbuk National University School of Medicine, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Korea.
  • 6Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
  • 7Department of Psychiatry, Dankook University College of Medicine, Dankook University Hospital, Cheonan, Korea.
  • 8Department of Psychiatry, Jeju National Universtiy School of Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Korea.
  • 9Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Wonju, Korea.
  • 10Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
  • 11Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders. The prevalence of ET varies substantially among studies. In Korea, there is no well-designed epidemiological study of the prevalence of ET. Thus, we investigated the prevalence of ET in a community in Korea. Standardized interviews and in-person neurological examinations were performed in a random sample of the elderly aged 65 yr or older. Next, movement specialists attempted to diagnose ET clinically. People who showed equivocal parkinsonian features underwent dopamine transporter imaging using [123I]-FP-CIT SPECT, to differentiate ET from parkinsonism. A total of 714 subjects participated in this population-based study. Twenty six of these subjects were diagnosed as having ET. The crude prevalence of ET was 3.64 per 100 persons. Age, gender, or education period were not different between the ET patients and the non-ET subjects. The prevalence of ET was slightly lower than those reported in previous studies. Further studies including more subjects are warranted.

Keyword

Essential Tremor; Prevalence; 2-Carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl) tropane SPECT, Korea

MeSH Terms

Age Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Essential Tremor/*diagnosis/*epidemiology
Female
Geriatric Assessment/*statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Risk Factors
Sex Distribution

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Flow chart showing the study process and results. In the 132 subjects in total with tremor, 14 subjects underwent [123I]-FP-CIT SPECT. Twelve of them showed normal dopamine transporter density. Among them, four subjects were diagnosed as ET. The others were diagnosed as having drug-induced parkinsonism (n=2), enhanced physiologic tremor due to hyperthyroidism (n=1), and frontal gait disorder (n=5).


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