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Group of people affected by Parkinson's

Number of people with Parkinson's in the UK set to rise

23 January 2012

The number of people with Parkinson's in the UK is set to rise by 28% by 2020, according to new research.

Our research shows that there are currently 127,000 people with Parkinson's in the UK.

This is around 7,000 more than previously thought.

Over the past year, our Research team has analysed the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) to make sure our figures are as accurate and up to date as possible.

The GPRD is the largest database of anonymous long-term medical records from GPs.

28% rise by 2020

The figures from our research show that there are currently 127,000 people with Parkinson's in the UK - around 7,000 more than previously thought.

In addition, by 2020 the number of people with Parkinson's will rise to 162,000, an increase of 28%.

This is based on population estimates - the UK has an ageing population so it's likely that there will be more people living with the condition in the future.

You may have seen the new figures in The Parkinson, our membership magazine, or recent media coverage.

Our Parkinson's prevalence research

By 2020 the number of people with Parkinson's in the UK will rise to 162,000 - an increase of 28%.

Kieran Breen, our director of research and innovation, comments:

"It's essential that we know the prevalence of Parkinson's in the UK so we can make sure there are adequate services for people with the condition.

"We are confident that improvements in diagnosis and recording of data, as well as the scale of the analysis we've done, means these figures are an accurate representation of the numbers of people with Parkinson's in the UK."