Background: Few comprehensive epidemiological studies
of the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been undertaken
in Arab countries, and none has been carried out in
Egypt. A community-based survey was conducted in the Assiut
Governorate to estimate the prevalence and clinical profile
of PD. Methods: A community-based study was carried
out, with random sampling of 7 districts, involving 6,498 inhabitants.
Out of this sample, 578 subjects dropped out,
leaving 3,066 males (51.8%) and 2,854 females (48.2%). There
were 3,660 urban residents (61.8%) and 2,260 (38.2%) from
the rural community. Patients were evaluated using a screening
questionnaire, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating
Scale and the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale for PD. Results:
Thirty-nine subjects were found to have parkinsonism, giving
a crude prevalence rate of 659/100,000 inhabitants. Of
these subjects, 33 were diagnosed with PD (21 males), with
a mean age of 66.9 8 8.4 years, a crude prevalence rate of
557/100,000 and an age-specific prevalence rate ( 6 50 years
old) of 2,748/100,000. There were more males than females
(3,395 vs. 1,989/100,000), but the difference was not signifi- cant. The highest age-specific prevalence rate was recorded
among subjects 70–79 years old (7,263/100,000). There was
a significantly higher prevalence among rural than urban inhabitants
(973 vs. 301/100,000) and among illiterate than literate
persons (1,103 vs. 280/100,000). The clinical profile of
our patients was similar to that of other populations but was
characterized by a high prevalence of mood/cognition dysfunction
and gastrointestinal symptoms; there were few reported
perceptual problems. Conclusion: The overall prevalence
of PD was high, especially in older adults.