Parkinson’s disease incidence 50% higher than previously thought

The annual incidence of Parkinson’s disease was 50% higher than previous estimates in data from five epidemiological cohorts in the United States and Canada.

Allison Willis, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and co-authors reported that the new incidence rate was about 90,000 per year in people over the age of 65..

This contrasts with a previous rate of 40,000 to 60,000 new cases per year based on smaller studies, the researchers wrote. npj Parkinson’s disease.

Not surprisingly, the incidence increased with age throughout the study, as age is the main risk factor for Parkinson’s disease. At all ages, the incidence was higher in men than in women.

Within the United States, clusters of counties with high incidence of Parkinson’s disease emerged juxtaposing the Midwestern and Southern regions of the country. Incidence rates also increased in southern California, southeastern Texas, central Pennsylvania, and Florida.of Parkinson’s belt It was first discovered in 2005 and remained in the data.

“Unique to this study, we found that the estimated incidence of Parkinson’s disease varied for many reasons, including how cases were identified and the geographic location of the study,” Willis said in a statement. .

“The persistence of the Parkinson’s disease belt in the United States may be due to demographic, medical, or environmental factors,” she noted. It’s important to our plan.”

Willis and colleagues used data from the U.S. Medicare Program, Canada’s Ontario Health Care, Kaiser Permanente North California, Honolulu Asian Aging Study, and Rochester Epidemiology to estimate average-year (2012) Parkinson’s disease incidence in five cohorts. has been identified. Project in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Confirmation and diagnostic criteria included a new document for Parkinson’s disease symptoms or Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2012.

The researchers calculated the age- and sex-adjusted incidence of Parkinson’s disease in people aged 65 and over for each dataset, then routinely collected information from three datasets (Ontario Health Care, Kaiser Permanente, and Rochester Epidemiology) repeated the analysis for people over the age of 45. about young people.

The five cohorts included data for 6.7 million adult person-years aged 45 and over and 9.3 million person-years aged 65 and over.

For older adults, adjusted incidence estimates ranged from 108 to 212 per 100,000. In men, these estimates ranged from 162 to 277 per 100,000 he. In women, it ranged from 66 to 161 per 100,000. For those 45 years and older, estimates ranged from 47 to 77 cases per 100,000 and were higher for men.

Incidence varied across cohorts, in part due to case ascertainment and diagnostic methods. Other factors, such as the prevalence of genetic risk factors in certain populations and exposure to environmental toxins in some locations, may also play a role, researchers note.

Willis and colleagues acknowledge that limitations of this study included potential confounding, misclassification, and selection bias. This year’s estimate may be higher due to lower smoking rates, increased risks from pesticides and other drugs, and increased awareness of Parkinson’s symptoms, they suggest.

a 2018 Prevalence Survey estimates that about 930,000 people in the United States will have Parkinson’s disease in 2020. The figure was expected to reach 1,238,000 in 2030, based on the Census Bureau’s population projections.

Willis and colleagues suggested that their results could help inform strategies for clinical trials and shed light on Parkinson’s disease “hot spots” where more resources are needed.

“The increasing number of people living with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease underscores the need to invest in more research towards better treatments, cures and, one day, prevention,” he said. Author Brian Fisk, Ph.D., Michael J. Fox Foundation, said: “It also makes a clear call to lawmakers to implement policies that reduce the burden of Parkinson’s disease on families and programs like Medicare and Social Security in the United States.”