Prevalence of Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonian syndromes in a rural Japanese district

Abstract

To investigate the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS) in a rural Japanese district. Collaboration with the medical institutions, the long-term care insurance system facilities, and the public health office. The crude prevalence rates were 175 per 100,000 (95% CI: 143-206) for PD, 18 (8-28) for progressive supranuclear palsy, 17 (7-26) for multiple system atrophy (MSA), and 9 (2-16) for corticobasal degeneration. The age-adjusted prevalence rates were 109 per 100,000 (88-134), 10 (2-17), 13 (4-21), and 6 (0-12), for each condition. There was a preponderance of women with PD and of men with APS. Nine of the 116 PD patients and 7 of the 29 APS patients were newly diagnosed in this study. There are high prevalence rates for PD and APS and suboptimal recognition of APS. This is the first epidemiological prevalence study of MSA from Japan.