What is Parkinson's Disease?
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive disease of the nervous system that causes a gradual loss of muscle control. It affects the body's ability to control movement. Parkinson's disease mostly affects people over 60 years and is progressive in nature (1✔).
Parkinson’s Disease Key Facts and Statistics
Here are some interesting facts and global statistics about Parkinson’s disease.
Causes of Parkinson’s Disease
- The cause is unknown in most cases [idiopathic]. However, a small number of cases have been linked to head trauma, poisoning, side effects of antipsychotic medications, and environmental factors such as smoking, pollution, heavy metals, illegal drugs, brain inflammation, and stroke (2✔).
Gender and Parkinson’s Disease
- Men are one and a half times more likely to have PD than women and it appears to affect white men more than African Americans or Asians (3✔).
Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
- Increasing age is a risk factor for Parkinson's disease; however, younger people may also be affected. Around 1 in every 20 people is diagnosed before the age of 40. Around 18 out of every 1,000 people over 65 are affected (4✔).
- People with an affected first-degree relative, such as a parent or sibling, have a four to nine percent higher chance of developing PD, as compared to the general population Approximately 15 percent of people with PD have a family history of the disorder (5✔).
Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease
- There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but a combination of therapies such as physiotherapy and speech therapy can help control the symptoms and maintain quality of life (6✔).
- The main drug for treating Parkinson’s disease is levodopa, also called L-dopa which mimics or replaces dopamine in the brain. For those who do not respond well to medications, deep brain stimulation [DBS] is advised (7✔).
- Daily exercises such as strength and flexibility training, yoga, treadmill, biking, dancing, and tai chi have proved beneficial.
Diet for Parkinson’s Disease
- Parkinson’s disease may be prevented by eating a well-balanced diet. The diet should be rich in vegetables and fruits, moderate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, tea, caffeine, and wine as these provide neuroprotection. Vitamin C, D and E supplementation may also help in slowing the progress of Parkinson’s disease (1✔).
Life Expectancy
- Parkinson's disease reduces life expectancy and has a 2.56 times higher death risk than individuals who do not have the disorder.
Global statistics of Parkinson’s Disease
- Parkinson's disease occurs worldwide, regardless of social, economic, or geographic status (8✔).
- About 1 to 2 out of every 1,000 people have Parkinson’s disease (2✔).
- About one million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, which will rise to 1.2 million by 2030
- Approximately 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year. It is also believed that a large number of cases go undetected (3✔).
- Approximately seven to ten million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease. Around 120,000 people in the UK have the condition.
Mortality Rate in India
- The annual mortality rate per 100,000 people from Parkinson’s disease in India has increased by 87.9% since 1990, an average of 3.8% a year.
