Parkinson: a disease neither rare nor well known to the general public

No, Parkinson’s disease is not uncommon

According to the press release from France Parkinson, the first observation established by OpinionWay is that the majority of French people (84%) think that the disease is a rare pathology. Indeed, 16% of respondents are aware of the number of patients in relation to a given population, ie the prevalence. However, it is relatively common: one in 250 adults is affected by Parkinson’s disease. Half of those surveyed believe that one in 2,500 adults suffers from the disease and a third of them believe that the prevalence is 1 in 25,000 people.

In France, the Association informs us that more than 200,000 people are affected by Parkinson’s disease and that 25,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. In practice, “a new case [se déclare] every 2h30” on a national level.

Worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative pathology, behind Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, this disease “is experiencing the fastest growth in the world, due in particular to the aging of the population […] The number of patients worldwide more than doubled between 1990 and 2015 […] And it should double again by 2040 to reach 12.9 million patients. That’s nearly a 500% increase in 50 years!”.

This is why France Parkinson now wishes to improve knowledge of this disease, which represents the second cause of motor disability after Cerebral Vascular Accidents (CVA).

A serious illness that is not limited to tremors

Parkinson’s disease is complex and the symptoms are still poorly understood by the general public. For 78% of them, this neurodegenerative disease manifests itself only by tremors when in reality, “almost a third of people with Parkinson’s do not shake.” On the other hand, the two other most characteristic signs of Parkinson’s disease are:

• Slowness, which concerns 90% of patients, but which is only known by less than 35% of respondents. However, the slowdown has a considerable impact on the patient’s pace of life;
• Sensations of stiffness, which affect 85% of patients, but whose existence is ignored by almost ¾ of intercity people.

Other disorders are also associated with Parkinson’s disease, such as pain, extreme fatigue and sleep disturbances. As for uncontrolled gestures, they are known by 61% of French people, while they “are the result of dopaminergic treatment”. It would also seem that Parkinson’s disease is confused with Alzheimer’s disease for 40% of people who responded to the survey.

France Parkinson goes on campaign

In view of such data, France Parkinson is in turn going on a campaign to make Parkinson’s disease “a major public health issue which is not however perceived as a cause to defend for the French”. Its objective is also to emphasize these misunderstandings which, “added to the complexity of the care pathway pointed out by patients, make life with Parkinson’s still just as difficult”.