United States: Population projections indicate Parkinson’s disease will become a condition affecting 25.2 million people by 2050 since worldwide older adult demographics continue to shift towards our modern world.
The expert expects that 25.2 million people will have Parkinson’s disease in 2050.
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According to the team leader and the senior researcher, Tao Feng, with the Beijing Tiantan, who is working with the Hospital Center for Movement Disorders in China, “An urgent need exists for future research to focus on the development of novel drugs, gene engineering techniques, and cell replacement therapies that are aimed at modifying the course of the disease and improving patients’ quality of life.”
Parkinson’s disease develops when movement-related brain cells either begin to deteriorate or perish completely, explains the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the US News reported.
About Parkinson’s prevalence
When brain cells perish, human beings gradually stop being able to manage their physical movements. The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include uncontrollable shaking movements while the body also becomes stiff, and problems appear with balance and coordination.
Most Parkinson’s disease cases develop in patients older than 60, according to risk factor information from the NIA.
Parkinson’s disease ranks as the world’s second-biggest neurodegenerative illness, according to scientists who provided background information on this matter.
The prediction of Parkinson’s future trends required researchers to study data collected from an active international study documenting disease frequency rates.
A total of 195 countries, along with territories, formed part of their analyzed data collection.
The models developed by researchers showed Parkinson’s disease prevalence will rise by 112 percent throughout the next fifty years.
The population aging remains the primary factor behind this increase, as identified by research findings (89%), as the US News reported.
A major rise in Parkinson’s disease cases is predicted to affect western Sub-Saharan Africa, where researchers project a tripled patient population (292%).
The analysis predicts a limited increase of 28% for central and eastern European countries regarding Parkinson’s disease cases.
Research findings validate that both declining population numbers and less impact from population aging exist in those nations.
Researchers predict a widening of male-female Parkinson’s disease rates from 1.46 in 2021 to 1.64 in 2050 based on current data, which suggests Parkinson’s affects more men than women.
Additionally, these projections “could serve as an aid in promoting health research, informing policy decisions, and allocating resources,” researchers noted.