Global, regional, and national burden of Parkinson's disease, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic epidemiological modeling analysis of observational data (by design analogy, not clinical CEBM).
PubMed 30287051 · doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30295-3
What was done
As part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016, researchers performed a systematic analysis of epidemiological studies to estimate global, regional, and national prevalence, years of life lived with disability, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for Parkinson's disease from 1990 to 2016. Severity proportions (mild, moderate, severe) were based on Hoehn and Yahr scale data and assigned disability weights. Prevalence and excess mortality risk were jointly modeled in a natural history framework to calculate deaths, standard life expectancy metrics were used to determine years of life lost, and trends were evaluated across levels of the Socio-demographic Index.
What was found
In 2016, an estimated 6.1 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 5.0–7.3) individuals had Parkinson's disease globally, compared with 2.5 million (95% UI 2.0–3.0) in 1990. Crude prevalence increased by 74.3% (95% UI 69.2–79.6%), and age-standardised prevalence increased by 21.7% (95% UI 18.1–25.3%). In 2016, Parkinson's disease caused 211,296 deaths (95% UI 167,771–265,160) and 3.2 million DALYs (95% UI 2.6–4.0). Male-to-female ratios of age-standardised prevalence were 1.40 (95% UI 1.36–1.43) in 2016 and 1.37 (95% UI 1.34–1.40) in 1990. Age-standardised prevalence, DALY rates, and death rates increased across all regions except southern Latin America, eastern Europe, and Oceania.
Why it matters
The global burden of Parkinson's disease has more than doubled over a single generation, showing that growth in cases is driven not only by population aging but also by an increase in age-standardised rates.
Limits
The abstract does not state the number of primary epidemiological studies or individual records included. As a modeled study, findings depend on the quality and completeness of underlying vital registration and diagnostic data across countries, which vary widely. Specific causal environmental or longevity factors driving the increase were not quantified.
Cited by
- supports According to the Global Burden of Disease study, approximately 6 million people worldwide had Parkinson's disease as of 2016-2017.