• National study analyzing over 234,000 deaths due to dementia in Parkinson’s disease in U.S. adults aged ≥65 years from 1999–2020. • Mortality due to dementia in Parkinson’s disease doubled over two decades, with a renewed surge after 2018. • Men, non-Hispanic Whites, and adults aged ≥85 years experienced the highest mortality burden. • Midwestern and non-metropolitan regions showed the greatest mortality rates, revealing major geographic disparities. Dementia, a late-stage manifestation of Parkinson’s disease (PD), predominantly affects older adults. However, national trends and subgroup disparities in mortality among PD co-occurring dementia remain underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate temporal and demographic patterns of Dementia in PD-related mortality in the United States from 1999 to 2020. We conducted a retrospective analysis using CDC WONDER Multiple Cause-of-Death data for adults aged ≥65 years, identifying Dementia in PD through ICD-10 codes G20 and F01,F03,G30 as ICD-10 does not include a specific code for PDD. Age-adjusted mortality rates per 100,000 were standardized to the 2000 U.S. population. Joinpoint regression estimated annual and average annual percent changes with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 234,377 PD concomitant with dementia-related deaths were recorded. Overall AAMR rose significantly from 1999 to 2001 (APC = 25.95; 95% CI 12.06–37.38), plateaued until 2018, and increased again through 2020 (APC = 11.21; 95% CI 2.49–15.71; AAPC = 3.04; 95% CI 2.33–3.86). Mortality was higher in men (36.61) than women (18.83), particularly among those aged ≥85 years (88.84). Non-Hispanic Whites had the highest AAMR (27.63), followed by Hispanics (19.48) and Non-Hispanic Blacks (15.47). Regionally, the Midwest exhibited the highest rates (28.87), with non-metropolitan areas (27.03) exceeding metropolitan ones (25.43). Dementia in PD-related mortality in the U.S. has risen notably, especially since 2018. Men, the oldest adults, Non-Hispanic Whites, and residents of rural or Midwestern regions face the greatest risk, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention, early diagnosis, and equitable neurologic care.
Kumar et al. (Wed,) studied this question.