PD is not considered to be a fatal disease by itself, but it progresses with time. The average life expectancy of a PD patient is generally lower than for people who do not have the disease. In the late stages of the disease, PD may cause complications such as choking, pneumonia, and falls that can lead to death.
The progression of symptoms in PD may take 20 years or more. In some people, however, the disease progresses more quickly. There is no way to predict what course the disease will take for an individual person. With appropriate treatment, most people with PD can live productive lives for many years after diagnosis. There are some indications that Parkinson's disease acquires resistance to drug treatment by evolving into a Parkinson-plus disorder, usually Lewy Body Dementia, although transitions to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy or Multiple System Atrophy are not unknown.
In at least some studies, it has been observed that mortality was significantly increased, and longevity decreased among nursing home patients as compared to community dwelling patients.
One commonly used system for describing how the symptoms of PD progress is called the Hoehn and Yahr scale. Another commonly used scale is the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). This much more complicated scale has multiple ratings that measure motor function, and also mental functioning, behavior, mood, and activities of daily living. Both the Hoehn and Yahr scale and the UPDRS are used to measure how individuals are faring and how much treatments are helping them. It should be noted that neither scale is specific to Parkinson's disease; that patients with other illnesses can score in the Parkinson's range.
