Trends in vascular dementia-related mortality in the United States from 2005 to 2020

The aging population in the USA has led to a concomitant rise in the prevalence of vascular dementia (VaD), yet there remains a paucity of investigation into mortality trends associated with VaD among adults.

This cross-sectional analysis utilized death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WONDER database. VaD-associated mortality was identified using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-10th revision (ICD-10) code F01. Crude, and age-adjusted VaD-associated mortality rates per 100,000 and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) were standardized to the 2000 US census population.

From 2005 to 2020, there were 375,575 deaths attributed to VaD among older adults. We observed a gradual increase in AAMR (APC: 3.70, 95% CI [-4.14, 5.21]) from 2005 to 2015, succeeded by a pronounced escalation (APC: 9.07, 95% CI [6.09, 17.62]) until 2020. The highest AAMR was noted in the West (17.65, 95% CI [17.55, 17.76]), followed by the Midwest (AAMR: 12.66, 95% CI [12.58, 12.75]), the South (AAMR: 12.60, 95% CI [12.54, 12.67]), and the Northeast (AAMR: 8.60, 95% CI [8.53, 8.68]). Metropolitan areas exhibited higher AAMRs (10.9, 95% CI [10.8, 11.0]) compared to non-metropolitan areas (8.1, 95% CI [8.00, 8.3]). Among age groups, individuals aged 75-85 and older showed the highest overall AAMR (99.80, 95% CI [99.47, 100.14]). In addition, non-Hispanic Black or African-American subset of the population showed the highest overall AAMR (8.12, [95% CI: 8.03, 8.20]).

Our findings underscore the imperative for targeted public health interventions aimed at addressing regional disparities and age-specific vulnerabilities to mitigate the mounting burden of VaD-related mortality.