Abstract
Objective: To assess the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) among African- Americans compared to non-Hispanic Whites in a tertiary urban Movement Disorders center. Background: Contributing factors in the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) based on race may improve health disparities in the United States. According to the largest study analyzing prevalence and incidence of PD among Medicare beneficiaries, the ratio of African-Americans (AA) to Caucasians in the general Medicare population is 9%, while the prevalence ratio of PD among AA compared to Caucasians is approximately 5%. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of African-American patients with PD in the movement disorders database at Boston Medical Center, which is the largest safety net hospital in New England. The demographics of the patients seen in the general neurology clinic are 30.57% AA and 38.06% non-Hispanic Caucasian. Results: The Movement disorders database included 488 patients, 327 of whom had PD. Of these, 287 were Caucasians and 18 were of African descent. Based on our clinic population the expected PD case ratio among AA compared to Caucasians was approximately 49%. The actual race ratio in patients of African descent compared to Caucasian was 6%, which was substantially lower than expected at Boston Medical Center. Conclusion: The demographics of the PD patients in our movement disorders clinic do not reflect the population at Boston Medical Center, or the demographics of our neurology clinic as a whole.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder diagnosed primarily by clinical presentation and neurological examination
Of the 488 patients were in the movement disorders database, 327 patients were diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 161 were diagnosed with other neurological disorders
The prevalence ratio of PD multiplied by the prevalence ratio of PD at Boston Medical Center in African-Americans was 8532, and in White (Not Hispanic/Latino/Spanish) 10,082
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder diagnosed primarily by clinical presentation and neurological examination. The prevalence of PD among the elderly population is approximately 1.6% [1]. The etiology and prevalence of PD is probably in most cases multifactorial with genetic and environmental risk factors. The most contributing factors of PD include age, sex, geographic location and race [1]. There is still limited knowledge in how race affects incidence of PD. African-Americans (AA) are diagnosed with PD at half the rate of Caucasians after controlling for age, sex, location of care, healthcare use, and reason for Medicaid eligibility [2]
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