|
FEATURES OF PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE
Prada G, Fita I, Tutu-Pata V, Prada S
Objective of the study was a clinical-epidemiologic analysis of a sample of patients with Parkinson's disease admitted to "Ana Aslan" National Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics. A number of 387 patients have been investigated, 53% men and 47% women, mean age 76 years (range 65 to 87). Patients have been included randomly in order to avoid selection bias. We analyzed: gender distribution, age distribution, heredity, overweight, smoking habit, coffee and alcohol consumption, trauma. Age distribution of the patients was skewed towards older ages (unlike data in literature), explained by the degenerative character of the disease but also by the specific nature of our Institute. Up to 57% of patients came from urban areas, addressability being greater for men in urban areas and women in rural areas. Family history of Parkinson's disease was present in 14% of subjects, almost three times as the frequency of diseases that do not have a confirmed hereditary transmission (5%) ? this could be due to the high age of patients in the general sample. Almost 25% have been smokers (75% men), and 32% used to drink coffee (60% risk reduction in developing Parkinson's disease for smokers and 30% reduction for coffee drinkers). Alcohol consumption was encountered in 48%, trauma in 22% and overweight in 41% of patients. Clinical-epidemiologic analysis showed differences as compared to data in literature mainly due to the type of patients admitted to the clinic and also some specific characteristics of population in Romania.
|
- GO BACK - |
