HomeLifestyleHealth & FitnessParkinson’s Disease In The U.S.: Every American Should Know This

Parkinson’s Disease In The U.S.: Every American Should Know This

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A new study has found that the annual new cases of Parkinson’s disease among older adults is 50% higher than current estimates, with an estimated 90,000 new diagnoses each year.

The peer-reviewed research measuring new instances of PD, or the number of persons diagnosed with PD year, was published today in the scholarly journal npj Parkinson’s disease.

The main results are:

  • Estimates of the incidence of PD grow with increasing age in the 65+ age bracket.
  • At all ages, estimates of the prevalence of PD are greater in men than in women.
  • The “Rust Belt,” Southern California, Southeastern Texas, Central Pennsylvania, and Florida all have greater rates of PD incidence. (The Northeastern and Midwest regions of the United States that make up the “Rust Belt” have a history of heavy industrial industry.)

“These updated estimates of incidence,” says co-author James Beck, “are necessary for understanding disease risk, planning health care delivery, and addressing care disparities.”

“Knowing this information,” according to the co-author, “will allow us to better serve people with Parkinson’s and their families and plan for adequate health care services in the future.”

This is the most complete estimate of the incidence of Parkinson’s disease in North America to date, using five epidemiological cohorts to calculate the number of cases identified in 2012.

Based on smaller studies, the number of people who got PD before was thought to be between 40,000 and 60,000 per year.

At nearly 90,000 cases per year, the new rate is 1.5 times higher. Age is the main risk factor for PD, and as the population ages, so does the prevalence of the disease.

“Unique to this study, we found that PD incidence estimates have varied for many reasons, including how cases are identified and the geographic location of the study,” adds lead author Allison Willis. “The persistence of the Parkinson’s disease belt in the U.S. might be due to population, health care or environmental factors. Understanding the source of these variations will be important for health care policy, research and care planning.”

According to co-author Brian Fiske, “the growth in those diagnosed and living with PD underscores the need to invest in more research toward better treatments, a cure, and one day, prevention.

“It’s also a clear call to lawmakers to implement policies that will lessen the burden of Parkinson’s disease on American families and programs like Medicare and Social Security.”

The study’s results could help researchers figure out how to find people to take part in their studies and where to find them.

Source: 10.1038/s41531-022-00410-y

Image Credit: Getty

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