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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