Prevalence of Parkinson's disease and other types of parkinsonism in the Aeolian Archipelago, Sicily

Objective: To estimate prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other types of parkinsonism in the Aeolian Archipelago, Sicily. Methods: We studied the frequency of PD and other types of parkinsonism in the Aeolian Archipelago (population 13,431). All potential cases were identified from available medical information sources. To ensure the completeness of the case-findings, a screening questionnaire was also mailed to residents aged 40 years and over. Subjects were considered prevalent if they fulfilled the SNES diagnostic criteria for PD, on prevalence day (January 1, 2001). Results: We identified 17 patients with parkinsonism from medical sources, and 4 from mail-survey. Prevalence for all types of parkinsonism was 156.3/100,000 (95% CI 99.4-234.8). Fourteen subjects fulfilled diagnostic criteria for PD giving a crude prevalence of 104.2/100,000 (95% CI 59.4-170.7) and 422.5/100,000 in the population aged 60 years and over. Conclusions: Prevalence of all types of parkinsonism and PD found in the Aeolian Archipelago is lower than that previously reported in Sicily.