Abstract
Introduction
The burden of PD has exponentially risen from 2.5 million in 1990, to 6.1 million in 2016 (PD Collaborators. Lancet Neurol. 2018; 17(11):939-53). This is due to ageing population, increased longevity, increased duration of the disease and improved diagnosis. The aim of our study was to identify the trend on deaths related to PD and Parkinsonism over the last decade.
Methods
We collected our data from the Office of the National Statistics, using codes G20 (PD), G21 (Secondary Parkinsonism) and G22 (Parkinsonism classified elsewhere), to extract the number of deaths coded under these conditions from 2013 to 2021. The data was only available for England and Wales.
Results
Total number of deaths including all codes from 2013 to 2021 were 4518, 4950, 5542, 5734, 5936, 6508, 6207, 7414 and 7117. Deaths coded under G.20 are far higher compared to deaths coded under the others.
Conclusion
The number of deaths related to PD has been gradually increasing and has nearly doubled over the last 9 years. Although Covid 19 may have contributed to this increase over the last two years, there is an overall rising trend. We think this is primarily due to people with PD living longer leading to an increased prevalence and duration of the condition. This is linked to sarcopenia, frailty, immobility, cognitive impairment and dysphagia contributing to increased mortality in later years. Another reason could be due to more accurate documentation in death certificates. Even though there has been concerns that deaths certificates have not been accurately coded to include PD, (Hobson, Meara. 2018; 8(2):e018969), there is probably an improvement after the introduction of Medical Examiner services. It is important to recognize the increasing burden of PD to enable us to plan and invest in resources to improve the care of these patients.