Prevalence of essential tremor in community of elderly people in Beijing

Objective To investigate the prevalence and clinical feature of essential tremor (ET) in a community cohort of the elderly in Beijing. Methods By using a door-to-door, two-phase screening approach, some 2835 residents from rural, urban and mountain areas in 2000 were investigated. Results The prevalence rate of ET was 4.3%, 2.9%, and 2.3% in rural, urban and mountain areas, respectively. The prevalence rate was increased with age and higher in men (6.0%) than in women (3.6%). There was a correlation between the prevalence of ET with age, sex and residence respectively, but not between those with alcohol and tea drinking and different occupations. Conclusions The prevalence rate of ET in Beijing is 3.3%, showing a higher rate in the urban areas and in male.