Awareness, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of Elderly with Parkinson’s Disease — China, 2015–2017

What is already known about this topic? Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects 1% of the population over the age of 60 years old and 4% or more over the age of 80 years old. An estimated nearly 3 million elderly people are currently affected by Parkinson’s disease in China, and the number of patients of all ages will be close to 5 million by 2030. What is added by this report? Rates of awareness, drug treatment, and rehabilitation among PD patients were 32.4%, 37.8%, and 16.0%, respectively. The rates of awareness and treatment were lower in rural areas than in urban areas and in older age groups. What are the implications for public health practice? Efforts should be made to improve health education among the elderly, to improve professional training of primary care and other health care institutions, and to strengthen the construction of community-based rehabilitative intervention for the elderly with PD.