Category: Tremor
Objective: To study racial differences in a cohort of Veterans experiencing Essential Tremor.
Background: Health disparities are quite widespread and there are numerous efforts going on to identify and address these disparities in a timely manner. Racial differences exist regarding access to healthcare, time of diagnosis, initiation of treatment, medication adherence and follow up visits. Racial differences in Essential Tremor are not well studied. We designed this study to address some aspects of racial differences in Essential Tremor.
Method: Data were collected via retrospective chart review. We examined charts of 1074 Essential Tremor patients. These patients were seen in Parkinson Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC), Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, USA from September 1, 2001 – March 31, 2018. Data regarding race, age at the time of onset, diagnosis, and medication intake were obtained.
Results: Among 1074 Essential Tremor patients, there were 872 whites and 164 African Americans (AA). Age of onset was 51.05±18.45 and 50.41±18.59 years respectively in whites and AA. Age at the time of diagnosis was 64.38±11.47 years in whites and 63.51±10.33 years in AA. 237 (27.1%) whites and 49 (29.8%) AA opted not to take medication at the time of diagnosis. 11.3% (99/872) of whites reported no response to pharmacological options versus 6.09% (10/164) AA.
Conclusion: There was no delay in diagnosis in AA versus the whites. Higher percentage of whites reported no response to medications.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
F. Jamal, I. Noorbhai, G. Jackson, A. Sarwar (). Racial Differences in Essential Tremor [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2022; 37 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/racial-differences-in-essential-tremor/. Accessed October 22, 2026.« Back to 2022 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/racial-differences-in-essential-tremor/