"less suicide is reported among PD patients" = we're used to life being a
bit of a **** so less likely to quit...

Quoting Ansa Ojanlatva <[log in to unmask]>:

> Thank you, Jim Slattery. 
> 
> A second question, perhaps more along the lines of your personal expertise,
> has to do with epidemiology itself. I recently saw a mention somewhere that
> there is no PD in really old people; it is understandable that really old
> people would tend to be really healthy (or lucky/unlucky depending on a
> personal viewpoint) individuals. We often hear that PD does not shorten
> lifespan itself, it only makes life hell --but it all ends one day. Does
> there seem to be an age that is the 'end' time period in PD? (A report
> mentioned that less suicide is reported among PD patients than the general
> population.) This also likely to be complicated with data gathering
> issues...
> 
> 
> Ansa Ojanlatva, PhD, CHES (ret.)
> Docent, Health and Sexuality Education
> 
> Authorized Sexuality Educator and Sexual Health Promotor (NACS),
> Authorized in Sexual Science (NACS)
> 
> Sanitas 3rd floor
> Lemminkäisenkatu 1
> 20014 University of Turku, Finland
> 
> mobile +358-400-823 816
> tel +358-2-333 8515
> fax +358-2-333 8439
> 
> Please use the mobile phone number for calling.
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jim Slattery <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Monday, April 6, 2009 9:35 am
> Subject: Re: My information
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> > > out of curiosity, have you worked with medical geography issues in 
> > PD 
> > > epidemiology? If so, is there something we should know about the 
> > > distribution of this condition?
> > 
> > Hello Ansa,
> > 
> > No, there do not seem to be any geographical issues in PD 
> > epidemiology, at 
> > least, not in Australia. My colleague and collaborator, Dr Simon 
> > Hammond MB 
> > BS (Lond) PhD (Syd) FRCP(UK) FRACP, had found a corollary with 
> > temperature 
> > gradations related to latitude in his definitive work on Multiple 
> > Sclerosis, 
> > where prevalence appeared to increase with distance from the equator.
> > 
> > However, in Parkinson's Disease, where clusters of cases occurred, any 
> > 
> > apparent geological variations were filtered out by comparative 
> > analysis 
> > between quintiles by age and sex of actual Parkinson's sufferers, and 
> > 
> > matching quintiles of actual general population as noted in census 
> > data for 
> > the comparative period, any clustering became apparent at variations 
> > due to 
> > sociological aspects, rather than geographical ones.
> > 
> > For example, where a raw data set for the Kimberley/Pilbara areas of 
> > Western 
> > Australia appeared to indicate an unusually low prevalence of PD, the 
> > 
> > adjusted data revealed that there was an anomaly in the population 
> > statistics, brought about by extensive migration of younger people to 
> > these 
> > areas to work in the mining industry. Similarly, there appeared to be 
> > an 
> > abnormally enhanced prevalence of PD in the Perth Hills district of 
> > Western 
> > Australia, this anomaly resolved, on examination, to be due to 
> > extensive 
> > migration of elderly people - those most likely to have PD - from 
> > other 
> > areas of the state to retire in the pleasant surroundings of this
> district.
> > 
> > It became rapidly apparent, the longer this study continued, that 
> > using 
> > Standard Population data for the age comparison, and using estimated 
> > prevalence for the PD sufferers component, gave results that were much 
> > in 
> > variance with that data obtained from Government medical databases, 
> > and 
> > census material. It turned out that the prevalence as used in many 
> > papers on 
> > PD, could be shown to be vastly underated, with the official 
> > Australian-wide 
> > prevalence being in the order of 30,000 whereas our study showed the 
> > more 
> > accurate figure to be in the order of 85,000.
> > 
> > An analysis of some 2,000 papers on PD prevalence show similar 
> > discrepancies, mostly bought about by methodology that was, to say the 
> > 
> > least, suspect.
> > 
> > Sorry for such a long-winded answer, but as you can see, there is no 
> > simple 
> > answer to what is s very complex question> the one simple-seeming 
> > answer 
> > that I can give is that there were several anomalous clusters of 
> > increased 
> > prevalence, of statistical significance, whose only common factor was 
> > that 
> > they were areas in which the local drinking water supply was sourced 
> > form 
> > limestone predominate areas.
> > 
> > Jim Slatttery 
> > 
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