HOW MANY CASES OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE ARE THERE IN THE U.S.?

WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE. Estimates range from 400,000 to over
     1,000,000.

WHY WE DON"T KNOW:
     * Parkinson's is not a reportable disease.

     * We lack a national registry for PD. NOTE: This would be
     funded under the provisions of the UDALL ACT.

     * PD is not included on the survey checklist of the
     "National Health Interview Survey," a major source for
     statistics on chronic diseases.

     * Studies using sample groups representative of the whole
     country have not been conducted.

WHAT WE DO KNOW

* About 50,000 new cases of PD are reported each year
* The mean age of onset is in the mid 50's;
* 40% of patients develop PD between 50 and 60;
* In one survey almost 30% report symptoms before age 50;
* In one survey 10% report onset before age 40.

SOURCE:"Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease: Epidemiology, Diagnosis
and Management."Incidence & Prevalence Database. Online: Dialog:
File 465.

* A Center for Disease Control survey of office visits to
neurologists found that Parkinson's accounted for 331,000 visits
annually in 1991-92. It was the sixth most common diagnosis, and
the number one diagnosis of people 65 and over.

SOURCE: Schappert, Susan M. "Office Visits to Neurologists:
United States, 1991-92: Advance Data Number 267." Centers for
Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, August 8,
1995.

WHAT DO RECOGNIZED PARKINSON'S DISEASE EXPERTS THINK?

Parkinson's disease "is a degenerative brain disease suffered by
about one million Americans . . .".

SOURCE: Lieberman, Abraham and Williams, FL. Parkinson's Disease:
The Complete Guide for Patients and Caregivers. New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1993, p.7.

Dr. W.C. Koller, of the University of Kansas states, "It's
estimated that over a million patients in the United States have
suffered with this disease and that one in a hundred people over
age  64 will get it." Available online:
http://thriveonline.com/health/edge/tasmar2.html.


The World Health Organization estimates that in 1990 there were
an estimated 4 million people with PD worldwide, and that more
than one in ten sufferers are diagnosed before the age of 50.

SOURCE:WHO Information Fact Sheet N152 - Parkinson's Disease
(April 1997). Available online:
http://www.who.ch/inf/fs/fact152.html

THE PREVALENCE OF PD WILL INCREASE AS THE POPULATION AGES.

In 1990 the 31% of the U.S. population was over 45 years of age;
12% was over 65. The percentage of older Americans will become
larger as the baby boom generation ages. It is estimated that by
the year 2030, 1 of 5 persons in the U.S. will be 65 years or
older.

SOURCE: Hoffman, Catherine, Rice, Dorothy and Sung, Hai-Yen.
"Persons with Chronic Conditions: Their Prevalence and Costs."
Journal of the American Medical Association. November 13, 1996,
276,18: 1473-1479.

The World Health Organization adds, "Because of the aging of the
world population the importance of Parkinson's Disease as a
public health issue is expected to increase." (WHO Information
Fact Sheet 512)

WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF PD TO OUR NATION?

* Total average cost per Parkinson's patient in the U.S.
 = $24,041. This includes:

Direct (medical) costs such as medication, basic physician costs,
surgery, hospital costs, nursing home care, therapy expenses, and
costs of assisted living
= $8,872/yr.

Indirect costs (all other costs) such as disability payments by
government and insurance plans, and lost income due to forced
early retirement
 = $15,169/yr.

SOURCE: Parkinson's Disease Foundation. A Desk Study of the
Average Per-Patient Costs of Parkinson's Disease. Conducted by
John Robbins Associates, Inc., April 1998.

* Based on interviews of 109 Parkinson's patients from Central
North Carolina, the yearly per patient costs (expenses paid by
the patient and their family),in 1994 dollars averaged:

     $6,115   for social or reimbursed costs (costs paid by
               taxpayers or insurance companies)
     $18,886  for family or unreimbursed costs (costs paid by the
               patient and the patient's family)
     $25,000  Total annual costs per patient.

Reported expenses included: hospital costs, doctor visits, fees
for other health professionals, drugs, formal care, special
equipment, domestic help, informal care and earnings loss.

SOURCE: Whetten-Goldstein, K; et. al. "The burden of Parkinson's
Disease on society, family, and the individual." Journal of the
American Geriatric Society.1997 Jul., 45,7: 844-9.


Linda Herman
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