Scrutinizing the Mortality from Cerebrovascular Disease with Underlying Metabolic Syndrome in the United States from 2000 to 2019 - A Comprehensive Analysis of CDC WONDER Database

INTRODUCTION: Patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are at increased risk of cerebrovascular disease. Given the limited data available, this study aims to explore contemporary trends in cerebrovascular disease-related mortality among patients aged 25 years and older in the United States (U.S.) with underlying MetS. METHODS: We analyzed death data using the CDC WONDER database, extracting age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 100,000 population between 2000 and 2019. Using the ICD-10 codes, we identified fatalities where cerebrovascular disease was the underlying cause, while MetS was the contributing cause of death. We evaluated the trends by year, sex, race, census region, and metropolitan status. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate the annual percent change (APC) in AAMR with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: From 2000 to 2019, a total of 855,391 deaths occurred with an overall AAMR of 19.81. The overall AAMR decreased from 24.80 in 2000 to 16.92 in 2019. Women had a slightly higher AAMR (19.66) than men (19.32). Black or African American individuals had the highest AAMR (33.20). Significant geographical variations were observed, with the West (23.64) and Mississippi (27.74) having the highest AAMR as compared with other regions. Non-metropolitan areas had a higher AAMR (21.48) than metropolitan areas (19.46). CONCLUSION: Temporal analysis revealed that the mortality improvement, as measured by the annual percent change (APC) noted earlier in the study period, plateaued between 2014 and 2019. Notable sociodemographic disparities were also observed. These findings help identify vulnerable groups based on sociodemographic and geographic characteristics, guiding the development of targeted preventive interventions.