Rising mortality from Parkinson's disease in Japan, 1950-1992

The death rate from Parkinson's disease (PD) were analyzed using Japanese vital statistics for 1950-1992. The age-adjusted PD death rate increased statistically significantly with the years between 1950 and 1992 for both sexes. However, decline in the PD death rate were observed among the population under 65 years old, while striking increases were seen among those over 70 years old. The changing patterns in the PD death rate might be explicable by a constantly improving ascertainment of PD, a true rise in the incidence of PD, particularly among the elderly, and a constantly increasing number of elderly people. There were remarkable differences in the PD death rates among the four marital categories in each sex. The mean age at death in PD increased from about 60 years in 1950 to 77 years in 1992 for both sexes.