Prevalence of Parkinson’s disease – North and South America

Approximately 1 million individuals in the USA are living with PD.^1,2 According to data from the Parkinson’s Foundation Parkinson’s prevalence project (PPPP), 1.2  million people will be living with PD in the USA by 2030.¹

Interestingly, there are geographic variations seen in PD prevalence.^2,4 An analysis of US Medicare data suggested that urban populations in the USA tend to have a higher prevalence of PD than rural populations, and data suggest that there may be a concentration of the disease in the Midwest and Northeast regions, compared to other regions.⁴ The PPPP studies have found a greater incidence of PD in the ‘Rust Belt’ (parts of the northwestern and midwestern U.S. where industrial manufacturing has been a major economic activity), Southern California, Southeastern Texas, Central Pennsylvania and Florida.²

References:
1.Marras C, Beck JC, Bower JH, et al.; Parkinson’s Foundation P4 Group. Prevalence of Parkinson’s disease across North America. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2018; 4: 21.

2.Willis AW, Roberts E, Beck JC, et al.; Parkinson’s Foundation P4 Group. Incidence of Parkinson disease in North America. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2022; 8 (1): 170.

3.Kim DJ, Isidro-Pérez AL, Doering M, et al. Prevalence and incidence of Parkinson’s disease in Latin America: a meta-analysis. Mov Disord 2024; 39 (1): 105–118.

4.Wright Willis A, Evanoff BA, Lian M, et al. Geographic and ethnic variation in Parkinson disease: a population-based study of US Medicare beneficiaries. Neuroepidemiology 2010; 34 (3): 143–151.