TITLE:
Racial Demographics in an Urban Movement Disorders Clinic
AUTHORS:
Chantale O. Branson, Luke Quehl, Raymond James, Janice Weinberg, Anna D. Hohler, Marie-Helene Saint-Hilaire
KEYWORDS:
Racial Demographics, Urban Movement Disorders Clinic
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Parkinson's Disease,
Vol.6 No.3,
August
17,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objective: To assess the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) among African-
Americans compared to non-Hispanic Whites in a tertiary urban Movement
Disorders center. Background: Contributing factors in the prevalence of
Parkinson’s disease (PD) based on race may improve health disparities in the
United States. According to the largest study analyzing prevalence and incidence
of PD among Medicare beneficiaries, the ratio of African-Americans
(AA) to Caucasians in the general Medicare population is 9%, while the prevalence
ratio of PD among AA compared to Caucasians is approximately 5%. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of African-American patients
with PD in the movement disorders database at Boston Medical Center,
which is the largest safety net hospital in New England. The demographics of
the patients seen in the general neurology clinic are 30.57% AA and 38.06%
non-Hispanic Caucasian. Results: The Movement disorders database included
488 patients, 327 of whom had PD. Of these, 287 were Caucasians and 18
were of African descent. Based on our clinic population the expected PD case
ratio among AA compared to Caucasians was approximately 49%. The actual
race ratio in patients of African descent compared to Caucasian was 6%,
which was substantially lower than expected at Boston Medical Center. Conclusion:
The demographics of the PD patients in our movement disorders
clinic do not reflect the population at Boston Medical Center, or the demographics
of our neurology clinic as a whole.