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How Many Parkinson Patients In The World

Still More Research Needed Into The Cause

Neuro Talk: Parkinson’s Disease Statistics

The cause of Parkinson’s disease is not yet known, but it is becoming increasingly clear that several factors play a role. There is strong evidence that most people are affected by a combination of a certain hereditary predisposition and external influences . In 10 to 15% of Parkinson’s patients, the genetic predisposition appears to play a major role. In these people, the disease often starts at a young age, and there is often a familial form of Parkinson’s disease. If there is no hereditary predisposition, it is called a sporadic form.

Part of the increase in the number of Parkinson’s patients can be explained by the increasing number of elderly people. “Parkinson’s is more common at older ages. So the fact that there are more older people coming and also that we are getting older on average certainly plays a role in the more frequent occurrence of Parkinson’s in our society. But aging is only a partial explanation. Because even after correction for ageing effects, there is still a rapid growth in the number of Parkinson’s patients,” says Bas Bloem.

What Is Parkinsons Disease

Parkinsons disease is a condition where a part of your brain deteriorates, causing more severe symptoms over time. While this condition is best known for how it affects muscle control, balance and movement, it can also cause a wide range of other effects on your senses, thinking ability, mental health and more.

Environmental Factors And Exposures

Exposure to pesticides and a history of head injury have each been linked with PD, but the risks are modest. Never having smoked cigarettes, and never drinking caffeinated beverages, are also associated with small increases in risk of developing PD.

Low concentrations of urate in the blood is associated with an increased risk of PD.

Drug-induced parkinsonism

Different medical drugs have been implicated in cases of parkinsonism. Drug-induced parkinsonism is normally reversible by stopping the offending agent. Drugs include:

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Parkinsons Prevalence Facts And Stats

Parkinsons is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and currently there is no cure.

1 in 37 people alive today in the UK will be diagnosed with Parkinsons in their lifetime.

Our estimates show that around 145,000 people live with a Parkinsons diagnosis in the UK in 2020.

Broken down within the UK, for 2020, thats:

  • England: 121,000
  • Northern Ireland: 3,900

With population growth and ageing, this is likely to increase by a fifth, to around 172,000 people in the UK, by 2030.

Every hour, 2 more people are diagnosed. Thats the same as 18,000 people every year.

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Sex Differences In Pd Incidence

Study: 1.2 million will be living with Parkinson

As shown in Fig. , incidence estimates were higher in males as compared to females at all ages in the datasets which allowed sex-based comparisons into the 8th decade . PD incidence among males rose first, most sharply between ages 64 and 74 in the fourstudy cohorts. In the decade of peak incidence, the male: female rate ratio varied across datasets: 1.86 , 2.18 , 2.51 2.58 . When individuals below the age of 65 were included, a higher incidence of PD among males remained however, the male: female sex ratio declined 4.6% , 11.4% , 20.8% .

Fig. 1: Age- and Sex-Specific Incidence Rates of PD.

Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100 000 Person-years for Females and Males of: Treated Parkinsonism in the Ontario population Treated Parkinsonism in the U.S. Medicare Insured population Treated, Neurologist Reviewed Parkinson Disease in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Insured Population Movement Disorders Specialist Consensus Parkinson Disease in the Honolulu Asian Aging Study Cohort .

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Race/sex Demographics Of Parkinson Disease

The mean age-standardized prevalence of Parkinson disease from 1995, and 20002005 was highest among White men and lowest among Asian women .3). The mean age-standardized prevalence of Parkinson disease in Blacks and Asians was approximately 50% lower than the prevalence in Whites, with crude prevalence ratios of 0.58 and 0.62 , respectively, as compared to Whites. Parkinson disease incidence also varied by race, but not as markedly in Blacks, who had a crude incidence ratio of 0.74 .3). The incidence ratio for Asians was similar to the prevalence ratio . The age-standardized prevalence and incidence were greater in men than in women for all races, with a mean prevalence sex ratio of 155 males per 100 females and a mean incidence sex ratio of 146 males per 100 females.

Myth : Aside From Medication There Isnt Much You Can Do

Fact: This it is what it is theres nothing I can do to help myself myth is counterproductive. There is a lot you can do chiefly, keeping as active as you can. A recent study found that patients with Parkinsons who took part in weekly, hourlong exercise sessions were able to do more in their daily lives than those who did not.

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Myth : Parkinsons Disease Is Fatal

Fact: Although a diagnosis of Parkinsons is devastating, it is not as some people may still believe a death sentence. Parkinsons disease is not a direct killer, like stroke or heart attack. That said, much depends on the quality of your care, both from your medical team and yourself.

As the disease progresses, you may become more vulnerable to falls, which can be dangerous. Thats why exercise and physical therapy are so important.

Infection is another problem. In later stages of Parkinsons, people often miss those signals and may not notice somethings up until its too late. That can be, literally, a killer so be sure to stay up to date with checkups.

What Are The Symptoms Of Parkinsons Disease

Faces of Parkinson’s

The symptoms of Parkinsons disease develop gradually, as levels of dopamine fall. Early Parkinsons disease symptoms usually affect one side of the body. The main symptoms of Parkinsons disease include:

  • Tremors: uncontrollable shaking, the symptom most associated with the disease, often beginning in the hands.
  • Rigidity: stiffness or tensing of the muscles.
  • Bradykinesia: slowness of movement, and loss of spontaneous movement.
  • Postural instability: lack of balance and coordination which may lead to falling.

People with Parkinsons disease may also experience other problems, including tiredness, depression, sleep problems, cognitive impairment and difficulties with handwriting. They can also find their speech and facial expression change and some people have difficulties eating and swallowing.

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Parkinsons Disease : How Common Is It In The Us

  • Nearly one million people in the United States live with Parkinsons disease, more than the combined group of people affected with muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis.5
  • Many researchers expect that there will be 1.2 million people with Parkinsons disease by 2030.6
  • It is estimated that every year 60,000 Americans are detected with Parkinsons disease .5
  • More than 100,000 Canadians are now living with Parkinsons disease 5
  • Nearly 6,600 people in Canada are detected with Parkinsons disease every year.5

Parkinsons Disease And Pesticides

  • The agricultural areas have a high rate of Parkinsons disease. The rate of disease in Nebraska is two to four times high in rural agricultural parts compared to urban Omaha.12
  • The risk of having Parkinsons disease is 170 percent higher in farmers than farmers.12
  • The longer the farmers work in pesticides higher is the risk of Parkinsons disease.12
  • Research done at San Matteo Foundation University Hospital showed that the risk of Parkinsons disease shoots up by 33 to 80 percent when the subject is exposed to pesticides targeting weeds and insects13

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Learn More About Parkinsons Disease

Parkinsons Disease: The Essentials

If youre new to Parkinsons disease and would like a good overview to help you better understand the disease, please view our Parkinsons Disease: The Essentials presentation. Its a great place to get started with reliable and concise information.

Causes

The exact cause of Parkinsons is still unknown, but there is an enormous amount of research being done to learn more. This research has led scientists to formulate a number of theories on the cause of this disease.

Diagnosing

While there is no definitive test that can be taken to determine whether a person has Parkinsons disease, movement disorder specialists look for symptoms and use brain imaging technology to accurately diagnose Parkinsons.

Symptoms

Even though Parkinsons is classified as a movement disorderand its motor symptoms are the most discussed and well-knownthere are many non-motor symptoms that display in people with Parkinsons as well.

Treatments

As of today, there is no cure for Parkinsons disease. But there are many ways in which the disease can be treated to make symptoms more manageable.

Living With Parkinsons

Parkinsons Disease By Gender

Alzheimers and Parkinsons Disease: A Great Threat to Our National ...
  • The prevalence of Parkinsons disease is 1.5 to 2 times high in men than women.14
  • The possible reasons for Parkinsons disease are higher in men: exposure to toxins, head trauma, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroprotection by estrogen, and X linkage of genetic risk factors.15
  • A recent study covering 7209 Parkinson patients at 21 centers in the United States, Netherland, Canada, Israel shows that women are less likely to receive informal caregiving support, i.e., support from their friends and families. The reason for this may be because of the longer average life span of women and their inclination towards becoming a caregiver for others rather than receiving care from spouses and other family members.16

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Rural Versus Urban Analysis

The United States Department of Agricultures rural-urban continuum classification system defines rurality by absolute population and classifies each county in the US by degree of rurality in a rank order fashion using a nine-tier scale from a population of less than 2,500 to a population of greater than 1 million. This system separately classifies less populated areas which are adjacent to large urban areas, such as suburbs.

To determine the relationship between rurality and Parkinson disease, we applied the rural-urban continuum classification system to county level age and race standardization for Parkinson disease prevalence and incidence from the year 2002. We compared the mean prevalence and incidence across these categories of rurality using a Kruskal-Wallis test. The prevalence and incidence for the most rural counties were also compared to those of the most urban counties with a two-tailed t test.

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Pd Incidence Ages 45+

Table displays PD incidence estimates for ages 45+, calculated using Ontario, KPNC and REP data. As expected, including low-risk age groups reduced overall PD incidence estimates substantially from 108 to 47/100, 000 , from 125 to 53/100,000 , and from 185 to 77/100,000 .

Table 2 Incidence of Parkinson disease by study, sex, among adults ages 45 and older.

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What Causes Parkinsons Disease

Parkinsons disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that currently affects about 1 million Americans. Parkinsons disease involves a small, dark-tinged portion of the brain called the substantia nigra. This is where you produce most of the dopamine your brain uses. Dopamine is the chemical messenger that transmits messages between nerves that control muscle movements as well as those involved in the brains pleasure and reward centers. As we age, its normal for cells in the substantia nigra to die. This process happens in most people at a very slow rate.

But for some people, the loss happens rapidly, which is the start of Parkinsons disease. When 50 to 60 percent of the cells are gone, you begin to see the symptoms of Parkinsons.

Support For People Living With Parkinsons Disease

People over the world talk about their Parkinson’s

While the progression of Parkinsons is usually slow, eventually a persons daily routines may be affected. Activities such as working, taking care of a home, and participating in social activities with friends may become challenging. Experiencing these changes can be difficult, but support groups can help people cope. These groups can provide information, advice, and connections to resources for those living with Parkinsons disease, their families, and caregivers. The organizations listed below can help people find local support groups and other resources in their communities.

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Nj Has One Of The Highest Parkinsons Disease Rates In The Nation New Jersey 1015 Fm Radio

This post was added by Alex Diaz-Granados

New Jersey has one of the highest rates in the nation of Parkinsons disease a neuro-degenerative disorder, typically affecting residents between ages 60 and 70 years old.

Dr. Elana Clar, a neurologist at North Jersey Brain and Spine, said the disease affects more than 22,000 people in New Jersey, or approximately 1,600 patients for every 100,000 individuals. That puts New Jersey in seventh place among the United States for prevalence of the disease.

She said it is possible to live a good quality of life with Parkinsons, which is why it is so important to have resources at hand a medical team, the right nutrition, exercise and therapy programs.

Awareness and education are important to destigmatize the disease and give people living with PD the confidence that they can still have a fulfilling life, Clar said.

Research is ongoing. There are studies investigating the connection between the gut and the brain. There are studies looking at genetic mutationthat increase the risk of developing Parkinsons.

Parkinsonssymptoms develop slowly over many years. Clar said people with the disease may start to notice they are slowing down. They may have limb rigidity, tremors and some balance problems. While the cause is unknown, Clar said the symptoms are connected to the loss of dopamine. Although there is no cure, she said there are many good treatment options including various medication and surgery.

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What Tests Will Be Done To Diagnose This Condition

When healthcare providers suspect Parkinsons disease or need to rule out other conditions, various imaging and diagnostic tests are possible. These include:

New lab tests are possible

Researchers have found possible ways to test for possible indicators or Parkinsons disease. Both of these new tests involve the alpha-synuclein protein but test for it in new, unusual ways. While these tests cant tell you what conditions you have because of misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins, that information can still help your provider make a diagnosis.

The two tests use the following methods.

  • Spinal tap. One of these tests looks for misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins in cerebrospinal fluid, which is the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord. This test involves a spinal tap , where a healthcare provider inserts a needle into your spinal canal to collect some cerebrospinal fluid for testing.
  • Skin biopsy. Another possible test involves a biopsy of surface nerve tissue. A biopsy includes collecting a small sample of your skin, including the nerves in the skin. The samples come from a spot on your back and two spots on your leg. Analyzing the samples can help determine if your alpha-synuclein has a certain kind of malfunction that could increase the risk of developing Parkinsons disease.

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Parkinsons Disease As Cause Of Death In Us

  • A survey was done in 2019 in the United States about the number of deaths due to Parkinsons disease. The results showed 3,874 deaths in California due to Parkinsons disease. Alaska had the least number of deaths, i.e., 32, in the survey period.7
  • The number of people who died from Parkinsons disease rose from 5.4 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 8.8 per 100,000 people in 2019. Many researchers found that the mortality rate increases across all age groups, sex, and different racial and ethnic groups. However, the mortality rate was twice high in men compared to men. According to a researcher, women have estrogen hormone, which leads to increases in dopamine levels in the brain. The dopamine levels protect women from Parkinsons disease.8
  • White people were more likely to die from Parkinsons disease than other racial or ethnic groups.8
  • The death rate for white people was 9.7 per 100,000 people, followed by Hispanic people at 6.5 per 100,000 people and non-Hispanic black people at 4.7 per 100,000 people in 2019.8
  • A survey was done in 2019 in the United States and found that 216 people above 85 years old died from Parkinsons disease per 100,000 population.17

What Can I Expect If I Have This Condition

Living With Parkinson

Parkinsons disease is a degenerative condition, meaning the effects on your brain get worse over time. However, this condition usually takes time to get worse. Most people have a normal life span with this condition.

You’ll need little to no help in the earlier stages and can keep living independently. As the effects worsen, youll need medication to limit how the symptoms affect you. Most medications, especially levodopa, are moderately or even very effective once your provider finds the minimum dose you need to treat your symptoms.

Most of the effects and symptoms are manageable with treatment, but the treatments become less effective and more complicated over time. Living independently will also become more and more difficult as the disease worsens.

How long does Parkinsons disease last?

Parkinsons disease isnt curable, which means its a permanent, life-long condition.

Whats the outlook for Parkinsons disease?

Parkinson’s disease isn’t fatal, but the symptoms and effects are often contributing factors to death. The average life expectancy for Parkinson’s disease in 1967 was a little under 10 years. Since then, the average life expectancy has increased by about 55%, rising to more than 14.5 years. That, combined with the fact that Parkinson’s diagnosis is much more likely after age 60, means this condition doesn’t often affect your life expectancy by more than a few years .

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