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Who Is Affected by Parkinson's Disease

It is estimated that about 1 million people in the United States (or about 4 out of 1,000) have Parkinson's disease.¹ Approximately 6.3 million people are affected by Parkinson's disease worldwide.²

The number of new cases increases with age, affecting 1% of people older than 60 and up to 3% of people older than 85.³

Recommended Related to Parkinson's

10 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Parkinson's Disease

Since you've recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, ask your doctor these questions at your next visit. 1. What stage is my illness in now? 2. How quickly do you think my disease will progress? 3. How will Parkinson's disease affect my work? 4. What physical changes can I expect? Will I be able to keep up the activities, hobbies, and sports I do now? 5. What treatments do you suggest now? Will that change as the disease progresses? 6. What are the side effects of medication?...

Read the 10 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Parkinson's Disease article > >

Symptoms of Parkinson's disease most often first appear during a person's 50s or 60s. The disease progresses gradually over 10 to 15 years, resulting in increasing disability. Early-onset disease (before age 30 to 40) is not common. Among the total number of Parkinson's disease cases, 5% to 10% are early-onset.³

Parkinson's disease occurs more often in men than in women, but the reason for this is unknown.⁴

Citations
DeLong MR, Juncos JL (2008). Parkinson's disease and other extrapyramidal movement disorders. In AS Fauci et al., eds., Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 17th ed., pp. 2549-2559. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical.
Baker MG, Graham L (2004). The journey: Parkinson's disease. BMJ, 329(7466): 611-614.
Samii A, et al. (2004). Parkinson's disease. Lancet, 363(9423): 1783-1793.
Minagar A, et al. (2003). Parkinson's disease. In RW Evans, ed., Saunders Manual of Neurologic Practice, pp. 205-209. Philadelphia: Saunders.

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	G. Frederick Wooten, MD - Neurology
Last Revised	December 3, 2010

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: December 03, 2010

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.