Parkinsonism in Ontario: comorbidity associated with hospitalization in a large cohort

To study comorbidity in patients with Parkinsonism (PKM), relative hospitalization rates from 1994 to 1999 for 15,304 cases were compared with 30,608 controls. After correction for differential survival, the rates were higher for cases compared to controls for aspiration pneumonia (6.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.23, 7.93), affective psychosis (2.71; 95% CI, 2.13, 3.32), hip fractures (2.56; 95% CI, 2.35, 2.76), other urinary tract disorders including infections (2.5; 95% CI, 2.17, 2.86), septicemia (2.39; 95% CI, 2.02, 2.85) and fluid and electrolyte disorders (2.27; 95% CI, 1.93,2.66). The rates for cardiac, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular disease were similar. Preventive measures and aggressive management of these conditions as outpatients may reduce the rates of hospitalization and improve the morbidity and mortality of PKM.