Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2007 Dec;78(12):1304-9.
doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2006.100107. Epub 2007 Mar 30.

Estimated life expectancy of Parkinson's patients compared with the UK population

Lianna S Ishihara  1 , Anne Cheesbrough, Carol Brayne, Anette Schrag
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Estimated life expectancy of Parkinson's patients compared with the UK population

Lianna S Ishihara et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To calculate the best possible estimates for age specific life expectancy (LE) and anticipated age at the time of death (AAD) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) compared with the general population in the UK. These may be of greater value to patients than standardised mortality ratios (SMRs), which are usually reported in studies on mortality in PD.

Methods: A literature review identified articles with data on age stratified life expectancy or SMRs to calculate estimations of LE using the Gompertz function and data on mortality and LE in the UK from the Office of National Statistics and Actuarial Department for the year 2003.

Results: Two UK studies and four from Western Europe were used to estimate LE and AAD for patients with PD from SMRs. The mean LEs of patients with PD compared with the general population were: 38 (SD 5) years for onset between 25 and 39 years compared with 49 (SD 5) years; 21 (SD 5) years for onset between 40 and 64 years compared with 31 (SD 7) years; and 5 (SD 4) years for onset age > or = 65 years compared with 9 (SD 5) years. The average AAD of patients with PD with onset between 25 and 39 years was 71 (SD 3) years and considerably lower than that of the general population (82 (SD 2) years). The difference between average AAD for older individuals with PD (onset > or = 65 years) and the general population was smaller, with an AAD of approximately 88 (SD 7) years compared with 91 (SD 5) years.

Conclusions: The calculations showed that LE and AAD in PD are reduced for all onset ages but this reduction is greatest in individuals with a young onset. While the results are average estimates, these can provide useful indications of LE and AAD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals paid for the research for the manuscript. LI's PhD studentship was sponsored by GSK and she is now an employee at GSK. AC is an employee of GSK.

References

    1. Diamond S G, Markham C H. Present morality in Parkinson's disease: the ratio of observed to expected deaths with a method to calculate expected deaths. J Neural Transm 197638259–269. - PubMed
    1. Lees A J. Comparison of therapeutic effects and mortality data of levodopa and levodopa combined with selegiline in patients with early, mild Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's Disease Research Group of the United Kingdom. BMJ 19953111602–1607. - PMC - PubMed
    1. DiRocco A, Molinari S P, Kollmeier B.et al Parkinson's disease: progression and mortality in the L‐DOPA era. Adv Neurol 1996693–11. - PubMed
    1. Lees A J, Katzenschlager R, Head J.et al Ten‐year follow‐up of three different initial treatments in de‐novo PD: a randomized trial. Neurology 2001571687–1694. - PubMed
    1. Marras C, McDermott M P, Rochon P A.et al Survival in Parkinson disease: thirteen‐year follow‐up of the DATATOP cohort. Neurology 20056487–93. - PubMed

Publication types