MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSONS-DISEASE

Introduction - After the introduction of L-dopa the mortality rate in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients has changed, but is still higher tha n in the background population. Material & methods - Mortality, age at death and cause of death in a group of PD patients compared with the background population were studied. The diagnosis on the death certifi cate were registered. The material consisted of 458 patients who in a period 1.4.1973-31.10.1991 were registered as having PD. Results - Dea th in the period amounted to 253 patients. Median age of death was 77. 29 years for men and 79.11 years for women. In the background populati on the median age at death was 80.69 years for men and 84.37 years for women. The SMR for men was 1.99 and for women 2.47. Infections, in pa rticular lung infections, and heart diseases were the most common caus es of death. Seventy percent of the death certificates had PD as a dia gnosis. Conclusion - It is likely that several factors can influence t he changed mortality of PD: more effective treatment, changing diagnos tic practice, and inter-disease competition.