Prevalence of essential tremor: a door-to-door survey in bidasoa, spain.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence of essential tremor (ET) in two Spanish populations (Irun and Hondarribia, Bidasoa region) and to compare the results with those of similar surveys.

METHODS

The survey included 2,000 participants aged 65 years or older in a door-to-door, two-phase design. ET was defined as postural or kinetic tremor of the head or limbs.

RESULTS

ET prevalence after age adjustment was 4.8% (95% confidence interval, 3.6-6.4). Prevalence increased significantly with age and there were no sex differences.

CONCLUSIONS

The age-adjusted prevalence rate of ET in people 65 years old and older in Bidasoa, Spain, is close to those described in other studies using a similar design and suggest no geographical variation. ET prevalence increases with age and has a similar distribution in males and females.