Caregiving responsibilities hold many back from opting for procedure
Written by Marisa Wexler, MS | April 27, 2026
- Women with Parkinson's are less likely to undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) than men.
- Lack of reliable support and fear of burdening loved ones are key reasons women avoid DBS.
- It's important to address gender-specific needs and include more women in Parkinson's research.
Women with Parkinson’s disease are far less likely than men to undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS), in part because they are less likely to have reliable support and more likely to worry about being a burden on their loved ones.
That’s according to the study, “How Women and Men with Parkinson’s Disease Approach Decision-Making for Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery,” published in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice.
“Women tend to be caregivers in our society and may be less able to step away from that role,” Michelle Fullard, MD, the study’s first author and an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, said in a university news story. “Or they may be worried about what the surgical risk could do to that role. When women have a chronic illness, they’re more likely to be divorced and have less social support, so they don’t have someone to come to their appointments or help them after surgery.”
DBS is a surgical treatment in which an electrode is implanted into the brain to deliver gentle electrical stimulation to specific brain regions. This can help to normalize electrical activity in the brain, easing Parkinson’s symptoms.
Previous studies have shown that the vast majority of patients who opt to undergo DBS are men. Women account for 23% to 30% of DBS recipients, the researchers noted. Parkinson’s is a bit more common in men than women, but this difference doesn’t explain the dramatic divergence in use of this particular type of therapy.
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