Greetings,
Here is my summary of a report of a Duke University study
which I found via Medline:
A team of investigators from Duke University computed the annual
societal and family cost for each person with Parkinson's disease to
be about $25,000 in 1994 dollars.
Data was compiled in a survey of a sample population of 109 PWPs and
their families living in central North Carolina near Duke University.
The survey covered the demographics, the health conditions, the
medical and equipment expenses, and the economic, employment and
disability situations of the participants.
22 of the PWPs were 45-64 years old, 46 were 65-74, and 41 were 75
or over. 32 were female. Only 9 were still employed, each working
189.3 days (mean) per year. The PWPs were diagnosed 5.9 years (mean)
prior to the survey and showed symptoms 7.1 years (mean) prior. 29.9%
manifested depression, 26.3% cognitive impairment, 50.9% fatigue, and
37.6% pain. [I cannot get whole numbers from these percents!]
The per patient costs were computed as follows:
Social (reimbursed) Family (unreimbursed)
Hospital 1292 231
Doctor visits 1324 264
Other health
professionals 590 28
Drugs 505 556
Formal care 293 21
Special equipment,
alterations 22 242
Domestic help 316
Subtotals 4026 1418
Informal care 5386
Earnings loss 2089 12082
Totals 6115 18886
[(6115 + 18886) times an estimated 1 million PWPs in the U.S. gives a
total cost of about $25 billion.]
Informal care, for which no payment was made, was quantified at
$121.95 per hour for an average of 22 hours per week. The earnings
loss in the under 65 age group was about $39,000 per year, and for
65 years and over, $5000 for women and $6500 for men.
The authors note that the participant sample was weighted toward
early stages of the disease when costs are least. There were few
participants from nursing homes.
The study was supported by the NIH, National Institute on Aging,
Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Grant no. 5
P60 AG 11268 It is published in the July 1997 issue of the Journal
of the American Geriatrics Society, Volume 45, pp. 844-849.
Phil Tompkins
Hoboken NJ
60/9
