The increase of Parkinson's disease mortality could be due to a cohort effect

INTRODUCTION: An increase of Parkinson's disease (PD) mortality has been observed in various countries during the last 3 decades. An analysis was done in order to define whether this trend could be due to a cohort effect. MATERIAL & METHODS: The mortality from PD in Italy during the period 1963-1987 was analyzed by means of a simplified cohort method. A mortality rate ratio (MRR) was also calculated, reporting all rates to 1906-1910 birth-cohort. RESULTS: The mean annual mortality rates from PD sharply increased during the period of the study. The MRRs increased from the cohort born between 1881 and 1885, to a maximum in the cohort born between 1906 and 1910, and then markedly decreased in the following cohorts. CONCLUSION: According to our findings, the increase of PD mortality could be partly ascribed to an higher risk of dying from PD experienced by the cohorts of people born in the first decade of this century.