For the fourth consecutive year, Health Union has gathered patient-reported data from over 1,400 people living with Parkinson’s disease, via the ParkinsonsDisease.net online health community. Parkinson’s Disease In America, a syndicated research study from Health Union, looks beyond the basics, detailing more than just demographics and symptoms, to establish a holistic snapshot of the patient journey of those affected, and track trends over time.

The new data from the fourth annual Parkinson’s Disease In America uncovers the experiences of 1,472 diagnosed patients, and explores the different journeys of women and men. Women diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease are more likely than men to say they experienced a higher level of pain over the past month; worry about passing along the genetic risk for Parkinson’s disease to their family;* and feel they do a good job of following their treatment plan.* Men diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease are more likely than women to currently be in stage 3 of Parkinson’s disease; have had DBS surgery; and visit their PCP on a regular basis for Parkinson’s disease.

*Top 2 box on a 7-pt scale

In open-ended responses, we asked people living with Parkinson’s disease what advice they would give to others living with Parkinson’s:

“Don’t face PD alone, get a support group. Reach out for help.”
“Keep busy. Do things you enjoy. Always have plans for projects to do.”
“Faith is critical as is good friendships”
“Exercise all you can every day”

Through a growing portfolio of condition-specific online communities like ParkinsonsDisease.net, Health Union’s continuous immersion in the patient experience delivers smarter insights and implications–so you can spend your time developing the strategies that will make a difference.