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Correlates of functional disability in essential tremor
E D Louis1, L Barnes, S M Albert
1The Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA. EDL2@columbia.edu
Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|December 18, 2001
Summary
Essential tremor (ET) functional disability is linked to depression, anxiety, and age, not just tremor severity. These factors are crucial for evaluating new ET treatments and indicate a larger patient population may benefit from interventions.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Essential tremor (ET) treatment decisions rely on functional impact.
- Correlates of functional disability in ET, beyond tremor severity, remain understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors associated with functional disability in essential tremor.
- To quantify functional disability in community-dwelling ET patients.
Main Methods:
- Recruited ET cases and controls from a tertiary center and community.
- Evaluated subjects using questionnaires, clinical ratings, functional tests, tremor analysis, and mental health assessments (anxiety, depression).
Main Results:
- 85.4% of ET cases reported functional disability.
- Depression, anxiety, age, and tremor severity independently correlated with functional performance.
- In community cases, 73% reported disability, and 67.6% showed moderate to severe functional difficulty.
Conclusions:
- Depression, anxiety, and age significantly contribute to functional disability in ET, independent of tremor severity.
- These non-motor factors are critical for assessing ET treatment efficacy.
- A substantial portion of community-dwelling ET patients experience functional disability, suggesting a broader need for effective treatments.