Parkinson's disease in the district of the Northampton Health Authority, United Kingdom. A study of prevalence and disability.

The study of a population of 208,000 in a Midlands district of England has shown the prevalence of idiopathic Parkinson's disease to be 108.4 per 100,000. This is comparable with past studies in Carlisle, England, Rochester, Minnesota, and South-West Finland. Parkinsonism associated with cerebrovascular disease is evidently recognised and differentiated by general practitioners; post-encephalitic parkinsonism is not encountered and drug-induced parkinsonism is not common in this district. The major functional disability of a carefully assessed randomly selected group was found to relate to walking and hygiene. Nevertheless, the essential physical needs of those with Parkinson's disease appear to be well met in general.