Cardiovascular Events in Parkinson's Disease Patients

Background Incidence of Cardiovascular Ischaemic Events in Treated Parkinson's Disease Patients in the Impact Database

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a common comorbidity of Parkinson's disease (PD). The background incidence rate of CV events in a levodopa-treated PD population was assessed to better understand these comorbidities in the PD population. One objective of the study is to identify a population of prevalent PD patients with incident levodopa use within the years 2004-2010 on the Integrated Health Care Information Services (IHCIS) database. The second objective is to report the incidence of CV events overall and during intervals 0-6, 6-12 and 12-18 months after first prescription of levodopa among all new levodopa users.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with one or more prescriptions of levodopa between 1st July 2004 and 30th June 2010
• Individuals on the database with medical and pharmacy benefit for at least 6 months prior to date of first prescription of levodopa
• Individuals with one or more diagnosis codes for Parkinson's disease within the 6 months prior or 6 months post first prescription of levodopa

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals less than 20 years of age on date of first prescription of levodopa
• Individuals previously prescribed levodopa prior to study period