Life Expectancy in Parkinson’s Disease

Subject: Life Expectancy in Parkinson’s Disease

Date: 2/27/2008

Estimated life expectancy of Parkinson’s disease patients compared with the UK population
L Ishihara, A Cheesbrough, C Brayne, A Schrag
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2007;78:1304-1309

Life expectancy is reduced in Parkinson’s disease, with younger onset predicting a larger reduction, according to this study.

The authors drew data from six European studies reporting a standardized mortality ratio to calculate age-specific life expectancy and anticipated age at death for PD patients, and compared these with population-wide statistics from the UK. The six studies were published between 1995 and 2004, and included 819 PD patients.

The mean life expectancy (LE) and average age of death (AAD) for PD patients (and the general population), stratified by age of onset, were:

Age at onset        LE          AAD

25-39             38 (49)       71 (82)

40-64             21 (31)       73 (83)

65+               5 (9)         88 (91)

For example, the average life expectancy of PD patients diagnosed between ages 25 and 39 was 38 years, with an age at death of 71.

The results from this study are in line with those of earlier studies, including from the United States, indicating a more significant reduction in life expectancy from earlier-onset disease. The authors write, “It may be speculated that after a long disease duration, despite slower disease progression in young onset disease, a greater proportion eventually becomes significantly disabled and prone to medical complications.”

Regarding the study limitations, they note that the results “are average estimates, and while they can provide useful indications of life expectancy, it must be emphasized that survival can vary between patients as a result of other factors.”