Systematic Review of the Prevalence and Incidence of Parkinson’s Disease in Asia

Carol Brayne,Weerasak Muangpaisan,Hiroyuki Hori

doi:10.2188/jea.je20081034

Abstract

BackgroundParkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder in older people, and half of the world’s older population lives in Asia. However, the epidemiology of PD in Asian countries is poorly understood. This review assembles evidence on the prevalence and incidence of PD in Asian countries and identifies gaps in our present knowledge.MethodsA systematic search of studies published from 1965 to October 2008 was conducted using MEDLINE and EMBASE. The selection criteria were defined a priori. Prevalence and incidence were standardized to the WHO World Standard Population 2000. Twenty-one original studies were selected for the review. Two studies that described the ethnic origin of participants and contained Asian populations were also included in the analysis.ResultsExcluding one study with questionably low prevalence and incidence, the remaining studies reported a standardized all-age prevalence of 51.3 to 176.9 per 100 000 in door-to-door surveys; prevalence in record-based studies ranged from 35.8 to 68.3 per 100 000. The standardized incidence rates were 8.7 per 100 000 person-years in door-to-door surveys and 6.7 to 8.3 per 100 000 person-years in record-based surveys.ConclusionsThe prevalence of PD in Asian countries was slightly lower than that in Western countries. However, comparison of incidence was difficult because of the small number of studies. Varying methodologies, diagnostic criteria, and case-finding strategies contributed to the considerable variation in the reported prevalence and incidence of PD.

Highlights

The age structure of the population worldwide is changing
Description of studies Of the 21 studies included in this review, 19 reported prevalence rates and 7 (5 of which overlapped with the prevalence studies) reported incidence rates
11 were conducted by door-to-door survey,[16,17,18,19,21,27,28,29,30,31,32] and most of these were conducted in 2 phases: interview screening followed by a neurological examination to confirm a positive result on screening

Summary

Introduction

The age structure of the population worldwide is changing. Less-developed countries are undergoing a demographic transition to aging societies faster than was historically the case for developed countries.[1]. More than 385.4 million people in Asia are 60 years or older and more than 41.9 million people are 80 years or older.[1] These figures account for approximately 54.7% and 44.5% of the world population in these age groups. An additional 8 countries account for a further 20% of the world population—4 of which are in Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Japan).[1] As a result of this growing older population, diseases and disorders of old age, especially chronic diseases, are a major concern. This review assembles evidence on the prevalence and incidence of PD in Asian countries and identifies gaps in our present knowledge. Two studies that described the ethnic origin of participants and contained Asian populations were included in the analysis. Diagnostic criteria, and case-finding strategies contributed to the considerable variation in the reported prevalence and incidence of PD

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Conclusion