Epidemiology and treatment of patients with Essential Tremor: A retrospective cohort analysis in the United Kingdom.

Authors

Tabish A Saifee, Keltie O Apos Neill, Evi Zhuleku, Marco Ghiani, Natasha Dzimitrowicz, Javier Sabater, Jos Becktepe

Published in

Neuroepidemiology. Pages 1-19. Jul 10, 2026. Epub Jul 10, 2026.

Abstract

Essential tremor (ET) carries substantial burden and unmet need. Limited real-world evidence exists for the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and treatment patterns of ET in the UK. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a large electronic health records database from the UK.
Data were obtained from Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) linked with Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) inpatient and outpatient databases from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2022. Point prevalence and cumulative incidence were assessed, including age- and sex-standardized estimates to Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates. In a cohort of newly diagnosed ET patients (1 January 2011-31 March 2020), we evaluated baseline characteristics, clinical features, and treatment patterns. We used descriptive statistics as well as time-to-event analyses (Kaplan-Meier methodology).
Age-sex standardized prevalence ranged from 20.62 to 55.08 per 100,000 persons (2010-2021), peaking at 55.08 in 2019. Age-sex standardized cumulative incidence ranged from 3.85 to 6.81 per 100,000 persons (2011-2021), peaking at 6.81 in 2017. Common comorbidities included hypertension (23.43%), pain disorders (17.12%), and diabetes (15.64%). Most patients (86.07%) received at least one pharmacological therapy; propranolol (68.34%), primidone (27.68%) and gabapentin (22.14%) were most frequently used. Median time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was 0.43 months (95% CI: 0.36-0.46); median time to discontinuation from start of first therapy was 4.63 months (95% CI: 4.27-5.19); median time to switch was 21.22 months (95% CI: 20.14-22.60).
This study provides UK-based evidence on ET epidemiology, clinical features, and treatments. Despite lower epidemiological estimates attributable to the requirement for two confirmed diagnoses - a methodological choice prioritising diagnostic specificity in a condition that is frequently over-diagnosed - ET burden and unmet needs remain substantial.

PMID:
42430313
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Jul 2026.

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