NEURO-EPIDEMIOLOGIC PILOT SURVEY OF AN URBAN-POPULATION IN A DEVELOPING-COUNTRY - A STUDY IN BANGALORE, SOUTH-INDIA

A feasibility study was conducted in an urban population of 3,040 in B angalore, South India, to understand the baseline characteristics, eva luate screening questionnaires, identify potential problems and determ ine the magnitude of the problems. The target population was selected by a random method, from four census enumeration blocks of a specific urban area. A two-phase study design was adopted consisting of screeni ng by trained field investigators in the initial stage and clinical ex amination by a neurologist in the second stage. The information was co llected by an interview method on a house-to-house basis. Evaluation o f the screening instruments yielded high sensitivity and specificity r ates, and it became clear that there is a need to reduce false-positiv e results in the screening questionnaire for individuals above 7 years of age. The prevalence of neurological disorders was 32.8 per 1,000 p opulation (with a rate of 7.8/1,000 for epilepsy). It appears feasible to detect a wide range of neurological disorders using the methods de scribed.