60 years
Most people diagnosed with PD are age 60 years or older, but an estimated five to 10 percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50, according to a National Institutes of Health report titled “Parkinson’s Disease: Challenges, Progress, and Promise.”
8.5 million
The World Health Organization estimates that there were approximately 8.5 million individuals with Parkinson’s Disease throughout the world. The prevalence for PD has also doubled globally over the past 25 years. There is currently no cure for PD, according to the WHO; however, there are currently therapies, medicines, surgeries, and rehabilitation on the market that are able reduce a patient’s symptoms.
2022-2031
In May of 2022, the World Health Assembly endorsed the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Neurological Disorders for 2022-2031. The plan aims to address care gaps and services for people with neurological disorders including Parkinson’s Disease. The action items include policy prioritization, timely diagnosis, improved treatment and care for individuals, and fostering increased research on neurological disorders.
1.2 million
Nearly 1 million people in the U.S. are currently living with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), according to The Parkinson’s Foundation. The number of people living with PD is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurological disorder affecting the nervous system and parts of the body controlled by nerves, according to Mayo Clinic.
2nd
Parkinson’s Disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States, after Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms often exhibit in patients slowly at first, with tremors and then onto increasing stiffness and slowing of movement, according to Mayo Clinic. PD symptoms often worsen over time as the condition progresses.
90,000
A 2022 Parkinson’s Foundation study found that nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease every year. This statistic highlights a significant increase from the previously estimated rate of 60,000 diagnoses annually. Increased incidence of PD nationally aligns with the growth of the aging U.S. population.
$14 billion
In the United States, the cost of treating PD is estimated to be $14 billion annually, according to the NIH, and as the population ages, care costs are expected to drastically increase. The number of people diagnosed with PD is expected to double by 2040, per the NIH. Researchers have been continuing to develop treatment options that have improved some of the motor skill symptoms associated with the disease.