The Spectrum of Movement Disorders in Tertiary Care Centers in India: A Tale of Three Cities

Movement disorders constitute a major burden among the neurological disorders. Overall prevalence and distribution of disorders requiring medical resources remain unknown.

To understand the pattern of movement disorders burden in India.

Retrospective electronic database review of new patients attending movement disorders clinics in three cities from 2012 to 2018 was done.

14,561 patients (M:F-9,578:4,983) with mean age at assessment of 60.5 ± 14.9 years (Range: 1-98 years) were analyzed. The major broad syndromic diagnosis included: Parkinsonism (n = 9560, 64.9%), Dystonia (n = 2159, 14.8%), Tremors (n = 1129, 7.7%), Ataxia (n = 475, 3.3%), Chorea (n = 402, 2.7%), Peripheral induced movement disorders (n = 400, 2.7%), Gait Disorders (n = 156, 1.1%), Tics (n = 112, 0.8%), Restless Leg Syndrome (n = 89, 0.6%), and Myoclonus (n = 58, 0.4%). The syndromic diagnosis also included the functional disorders (0.6%).

This large database from India show the burden of different movement disorders in tertiary clinics. In addition, it also gives insight into disorders requiring more resources for evaluation and management.