Prevalence and clinical classification of tremor in elderly—A community‐based survey in Brazil

Abstract

Prevalence data on different types of tremor among the elderly population are very scarce. The objective of this study was to study the prevalence of tremor in a community-dwelling elderly population in the town of Bambuí, Brazil. The authors studied 1186 inhabitants aged≥64 years. This was a 2-phase study in which all participants who screened positive in a questionnaire for tremor and parkinsonism or who used drugs capable of causing/suppressing tremor were examined. In this population, the prevalence rate was 17.4% for tremor, 7.4% for essential tremor, 5.6% for parkinsonian tremor, 2.8% for enhanced physiological tremor, and 1.6% for other causes. There were no gender differences in prevalence rates for all types. Patients who had Parkinson's disease with tremor were older than those who had essential tremor, whereas patients who had enhanced physiological tremor were significantly younger. The age-specific prevalence of tremor increased with advancing age for both men and women. The prevalence of tremor in the studied population was high and increased with advancing age. Essential tremor, parkinsonian tremor, and enhanced physiological tremor were the most commonly identified causes. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society.

Prevalence of Tremor Disorders in Young Male Population of Turkey

“…These studies were conducted with old individuals, and as far as we know, there is no study of enhanced PT prevalence in young individuals. Erer et al [13] found the enhanced PT prevalence 4.14% in individuals at the age of 40 or more [13], and Barbosa et al [12] found increased enhanced PT prevalence 2.8% in individuals at the age of 64 or more [12]. We reported the prevalence of detectable PT in normal individuals as 4.3% which is slightly higher than the prevalence of ET.…”

“…The physiological tremor (PT) is defined as the postural tremor with low amplitude at classically [8][9][10][11][12] Hz frequency that may be seen in everybody and may increase with anxiety and fatigue [1,11]. Healthy people may show some tremor but this condition does not cause any complaint.…”

“…If it is exacerbated by some factors, such as anxiety, thyrotoxicosis, caffeine or other stimulating substances and medications, then it is considered as enhanced physiological tremor [1]. The prevalence of enhanced PT was found between 2.8% [12] to 4.14% [13] in studies.…”

Tremor essencial em guardas de endemias expostos a agrotóxicos: estudo caso-controle

“…É possível que a exigência física ainda influencie nessa proporção. Em média, a idade dos trabalhadores portadores de tremor essencial foi de 51 anos, e está abaixo da média da maioria dos estudos que avaliam essa doença 8,9,11,37,41 . A precocidade da doença é um aspecto frequentemente encontrado em doenças ocupacionais.…”

“…Já a taxa de incidência foi estimada entre 23,7 e 616 por 100 mil 10 . Um estudo brasileiro realizado em uma cidade do interior de Minas Gerais observou uma prevalência de 7,4% de tremor essencial em indivíduos com ≥ 64 anos 11 .…”