Essential tremor: Phenotypic expression in a clinical cohort

ObjectivesExamine the characteristics of an essential tremor (ET) clinical cohort including base-rate variability of several commonly accepted diagnostic criteria.MethodsA clinical series of 487 consecutive individuals diagnosed with ET were included for study.ResultsThe sample was 53% male, had a mean age of onset of 52, and a mean age of 71. Half of the sample had a family history of ET. Half presented with asymmetrical disease and tremor affected the arms (97%), voice (62%), and head or neck (48%). There was considerable variability in the base rate of individuals fulfilling various commonly used diagnostic criteria of ET.ConclusionThe sample was deemed representative of ET clinical cohorts. Asymmetric disease was common, and there was considerable base-rate variation across traditional ET diagnostic criteria.