Introduction: We aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors
of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) in Western Turkey, which
encompasses Edirne and its surrounding districts.
Methods: In this study, 9887 individuals, able to communicate and
agreed to participate in the study, were evaluated. The data was obtained
by answering a face-to-face questionnaire consisting of 53 questions
from volunteers living at 30 randomly selected family health centers
in Edirne and its counties. The questionnaire included demographic
information, questions to evaluate potential concomitant conditions,
and questions regarding the symptomatology used in IPD diagnosis.
Following the questionnaire, it was planned to determine the degree
of IPD with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and
the Hoehn and Yahr scale (HY) clinical rating scale in patients diagnosed
with IPD to assess disease severity in patients diagnosed with IPD
Results: Of the 9887 individuals, 118 were diagnosed with IPD according
to the questionnaire results from Edirne and its districts, and the
prevalence of IPD was 1.2%. Approximately, 58.4% of the patients with
IPD were male and 41.6% were female, which was not significantly
different (p=0.214). Non-motor symptoms such as difficulty urinating,
anxiety, depression, fatigue, REM sleep behavior disorder, and difficulty
falling asleep or staying asleep were also examined in patients diagnosed
with IPD. Depression was identified in 45.7% of the cases, while the
control group was 4.3% (p=0.001). Fatigue was identified in 46.8% of the
cases and control group was 3.5% (p=0.002).
Conclusions: IPD prevalence studies will increase the awareness in the
community and provide early diagnosis and treatment as well as serve
as a basis to increased life expectancy, reduce morbidity, and improve
life quality.
Keywords: Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, prevalence, Edirne, nonmotor
symptoms, concomitant diseases