Objective: To create a database and describe the presentation of Parkinson’s disease patients at the sole tertiary hospital in Calabar, southern Nigeria.

Background: Parkinson’s disease is the most common movement disorder in Nigeria, despite the low country prevalence. Data on the characteristics of Parkinson’s disease in southeastern Nigeria is sparse. Although the features of the disease are well known, patients show variations in prominence of component symptoms; hence, the use of terms like “tremor dominant”. Disease progression has been linked to the dominant symptom.

Method: This was an observational study, over three years, on consecutively presenting Parkinson’s disease patients, at their initial presentation at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. Patient assessment hinged on self-reported symptoms and evaluation by physicians. Parkinson`s disease was diagnosed on presenting with motor features of parkinsonism in addition to lack of any identifiable secondary cause of parkinsonism, absence of atypical features and asymmetry of symptom manifestations at the initial stage. The physicians obtained data on patients’ demographics and pattern of the disease presentation. The self-reported age at the onset of motor manifestations of Parkinson’s disease was recorded as the age at onset. The interval from onset of motor symptoms to the time of presentation at the clinic was noted as the duration of illness.

Results: The subjects comprise 42 patients, with mean age of 65.7 years ± 11.77. The mean age at onset was 62.4 years ± 12.68. The duration of symptoms ranged from three months to 22 years, with a mean of 3.2 years ±3.58, and sex specific mean values of 4.1 years ± 4.39 and 1.9 years ± 0.97 for the male and female patients, respectively (p= 0.023). 28.6%, 64.3% and 7.1% of the participants were at stages I, II and III of the Hoehn and Yahr scale, respectively. Tremor (97.6%) and rigidity (83.3%) were the top motor symptoms. 78.6% had non motor symptoms, with constipation (40.5%) and REM sleep disorder (40.5%) as the most common.

Conclusion: Parkinson’s disease in Calabar is tremor dominant with age of onset in the seventh decade of life. Constipation and REM sleep disorder are the most common non motor symptoms. Male patients with Parkinson’s disease do not present early in the region.

References: [1] Okubadejo NU, Bowen JH, Rocca WA, Maraganorc DM. Parkinson`s disease in Africa: A systemic review of epidemiologic and genetic studies. Movement Disorders 2006; 21 (12): 2150 – 2156. [2] Akinyemi RO, Okubadejo NU. Movement Disorders in Africa: A review. Archives of Ibadan Medicine (Special Neuroscience Edition) 2010;10: 58 – 64. [3] Owolabi LF, Ibrahim A, Aliyu S. Clinical profile of Parkinsonian disorder in the tropics: Experience of Kano, North western Nigeria. J Neurosci Rural Pract 2012; 3: 237 – 241. [4] Jankovic J. Parkinson`s disease: Clinical features and diagnosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2008; 79: 368 – 376. [5] Dotchin CL, Msuya O, Walker RW. The challenge of Parkinson’s disease management in Africa. Age Ageing 2007; 36: 122 – 127 [6] Pont-Sunyer C, Hotter A, Gaig C, Seppi K, Compta Y, Katzenschlager R et al. The onset of non motor symptoms in Parkinson`s disease (the ONSET PD study). Movement Disorders 2015; 30: 229 – 237.

« Back to 2019 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/parkinsons-disease-presentation-in-calabar-nigeria/