Current estimates put the number of Parkinson’s disease diagnoses at 60,000 annually. However, new research reveals that the actual incidence rate is nearly 90,000 diagnoses each year, which is 50% higher.
PD incidence rates are higher in certain geographic regions: the “Rust Belt,” Southern California, Southeastern Texas, Central Pennsylvania, and Florida. “Unique to this study, we found that PD incidence estimates have varied for many reasons, including how cases are identified and the geographic location of the study,” said Allison Willis, MD, lead author of the study and associate professor of Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “The persistence of the Parkinson’s disease belt in the U.S. might be due to population, health care or environmental factors.