Prevalence of Parkinson’s Disease in Bulgaria

Abstract

Despite some publications on Parkinson’s disease prevalence in Bulgaria, its frequency in the country still remains uncertain. Earlier studies in Bulgaria were carried out on large population groups and were based on medical records without further diagnostic confirmation. The aim of the present study was to perform an epidemiological investigation on Parkinson’s disease in Bulgaria, using strict diagnostic criteria in an attempt to obtain a more accurate estimate of its frequency in this country. We studied the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease in two small regions of Bulgaria. Cases were ascertained by the medical records and confirmed by personal examination. The prevalence of Parkinson’s disease was found to be 164.2 per 100,000 with 47 cases in the first region and 169.8 per 100,000 with 155 cases in the second region. Based on two small population studies, the prevalence ratio in different parts of Bulgaria is not significantly different and is similar to other European countries.

Female Preponderance of Parkinson’s Disease in Japan

“…Recent epidemiological studies on the prevalence of PD in Europe and the USA have shown that men were more frequently affected by this disease than women [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Baldereschi et al [6] reported a twofold higher incidence among Italian men.…”

“…For example, the prevalence rate of PD is 137/ 100,000 for the Caucasian population of Bulgaria but only 16/100,000 among Bulgarian Gypsies, who are thought to originate from North India [2]. A gender difference in the prevalence of PD has also been reported in recent epidemiological studies of European countries and the USA, which have shown that the prevalence of PD is higher among men than women [3][4][5][6][7][8]. This male predominance in the prevalence of PD may be explained by the effect of female steroid hormones, which have been reported to have a neuroprotective effect on dopaminergic neurons under experimental conditions [9][10][11][12] or by the possible genetic susceptibility of men to yet unknown environmental factors causing PD [3,5,6].…”

Gender differences in motor and non-motor symptoms among Sardinian patients with Parkinson's disease

“…Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that PD occurs more frequently in men than in women [1][2][3][4][5][6] and hypothesized that males have a higher risk for PD development compared with females [1]. Moreover, recent evidences showed gender differences in nigrostriatal dopaminergic innervations [7], with higher levels of striatal dopamine binding in young-to-middle age women compared to men, but not present in the elderly [8].…”

Gender and the Parkinson’s disease phenotype

“…Several epidemiological studies in Europe and the United States have suggested that males have a higher prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) [1,3,14,17,19,27] and hypothesized that males have a higher risk for development of PD compared with females [1]. Recent studies have reported developmental and functional differences of the nigrostriatal system associated with sex hormones between males and females [2,34,35].…”