Parkinson disease and mortality

Abstract

Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative neurologic illness, after Alzheimer disease (AD). In both illnesses there is a gradual loss or decrease in the number of nerve cells, called neurons. Although similar in this regard, the 2 illnesses are very different: AD primarily causes troubles with thinking and memory while PD mostly causes problems with movement. However, some people with PD also experience troubles with thinking, called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). When the two occur together, this is referred to as PD-MCI. In addition, there are many studies that have shown that people with PD have a shorter lifespan than people without PD. In their study “Early predictors of mortality in parkinsonism and Parkinson disease: a population-based study,” Dr. Backstrom and his colleagues looked at many factors to better understand the link between PD and earlier mortality.