Parkinson's Disease Blog

Is Parkinson’s more common in men than in women?

At each age Parkinson’s is somewhat more common in men than in women. Some studies have suggested that men are twice as likely to get it. However, as women on the whole live longer than men, and as the disease gets commoner with age, there are just as many women as men alive with Parkinson’s.

I read somewhere that Parkinson’s is found all over the world. Is this true or is it more common in some countries or climates?

Yes, Parkinson’s is found worldwide. We do not always know what the exact figures are, as good research counting the number of people with Parkinson’s is not available from every country. From what we do know, it does appear that Parkinson’s is possibly less common in countries closer to the equator than it is in the UK.

Is it true that smoking cigarettes can protect people from Parkinson’s?

Most research surveys have suggested that people who get Parkinson’s have on the whole smoked remarkably little. One difficulty of these surveys is that they are biased because some smokers who should really have been included in the survey have already died of other causes, such as cancer. It is also possible that, before symptoms become obvious, there is something that makes individuals who are destined to get Parkinson’s just not enjoy smoking. It remains a possibility that smoking genuinely protects people from getting Parkinson’s. One day we will be able to protect people from getting Parkinson’s but smoking (which causes so much death and disability) will not be a part of the answer!