Mortality rates in patients with Parkinson's disease: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease database

Surg Neurol Int. 2026 Mar 27;17:184. doi: 10.25259/SNI_1421_2025. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) prevalence is rising globally; however, the implications for mortality remain underexplored. This study evaluates regional PD mortality trends over the past decade.

METHODS: Age-standardized PD mortality rates from 2011 to 2021 were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 database for all six World Health Organization regions. Relative changes over time were calculated to assess trends.

RESULTS: Mortality trends varied across regions. The Eastern Mediterranean region had the highest mortality in both 2011 (5.48/100,000) and 2021 (5.38/100,000). The Western Pacific Region saw the greatest decline (-5.67%), while the African Region showed minimal improvement (-0.82%). Two regions, the Americas and South-East Asia, experienced net increases.

CONCLUSION: PD mortality improvements are heterogeneous globally, which may reflect differences in access to diagnosis and treatment of PD and comorbidities. Targeted, region-specific strategies should be considered to reduce mortality disparities.

PMID:41952722 | PMC:PMC13054386 | DOI:10.25259/SNI_1421_2025