Comparative analysis of mortality patterns in Parkinson’s disease and COVID-19: insights from a retrospective study in the United States

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may contribute to varying degrees of stress. We aim to compare the deaths associated with PD alone, COVID-19 alone, and both COVID-19 and PD in the United States (US) stratified by sex, race/ethnicity, census region, and age groups. Results We retrieved the data for deaths related to PD and COVID-19 via the CDC-WONDER database from 2020 to 2021 for adults aged ≥ 25 years. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) per 100,000 population by standardizing the deaths to the year 2000 US population. We observed an AAMR of 23.6 for PD alone, 161.0 for COVID-19 alone, and 2.04 in both PD and COVID-19. The AAMR for men (3.14) was twice that for women (1.26). The highest AAMR for both PD and COVID-19 was exhibited by people ≥ aged 65 years (10.2). The AAMR associated with both PD and COVID-19 was highest in non-Hispanic (NH) American Indian or Alaska Native people (2.45). The highest AAMRs in the Northeast (2.35) and Midwest (2.70) were observed in NH Whites. However, the highest AAMR was observed in Hispanics (2.13) in the South, and American Indian or Alaska Natives (3.37) in the West. Conclusions The mortality due to COVID-19 in patients with PD was highest in patients aged ≥ 65 years. Racial disparities were evident across all regions, and mortality was higher in men. Identifying the factors giving rise to such disparities is crucial to develop targeted strategies to overcome them.