Parkinson’s and Related Disorders Seen to Shorten Patient’s Lifespan by About 2 Years, Study Reports

People with Parkinson’s disease and related dementias are more likely to die younger than those of comparable age in the general population, often of ills linked to their neurological disease or of cardiovascular problems, a recent study by the Mayo Clinic found.

Specifically, Parkinson’s patients can have their lifespan shortened by about one year, the researchers reported, while those with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease dementia were seen to die about four years earlier. On average, these people lived about two fewer years than others in the general population. Those with multiple system atrophy with parkinsonism had the greatest mortality risk, dying six years earlier on average than study counterparts without the disease.

The findings, in the study titled, “Survival and Causes of Death Among People With Clinically Diagnosed Synucleinopathies With Parkinsonism: A Population-Based Study,“ were published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

“As doctors, we want to be able to counsel our patients appropriately when they ask, ‘What will happen to me?’” Rodolfo Savica, MD, PhD and leading author of the study, said in a news release. “Understanding long-term outcomes can help clinicians better inform patients and their caregivers about what to expect.”

Researchers used the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a collaboration of patient volunteers and clinics in Minnesota and Wisconsin, to identify people living in Olmsted County, Minnesota, who received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s or related conditions from 1991 through 2010. They then compared patients’ data with that of age- and gender-matched healthy controls.

The analysis showed that, over that period, 461 individuals were diagnosed with synucleinopathies (309 with Parkinson’s disease, 81 with Lewy body dementia, 55 with Parkinson disease dementia, and 16 with multiple system atrophy with parkinsonism).

During follow-up, 316 (68.6%) of the total number of patients and 220 (48.7%) of the control individuals died. The most frequent cause of death among patients was their neurological disease (31.5%), followed by cardiovascular disease (15.7%). Most healthy controls died of cardiovascular disease (25.5%).

“Because survival rates and the causes of death vary across the clinically diagnosed [Parkinson’s-related diseases], an individualized approach to prognosing the different diseases is warranted,” the researchers wrote.

“Understanding the long-term outcomes of these conditions may inform patients and caregivers of the expected disease duration and may help with care planning,” they added.