There is a significant link between COPD and higher stroke-related death rates among older adults. Researchers highlighted this finding in the paper, “Double Trouble: Two Decades of Mortality Trends in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Associated Stroke Among Elderly Americans,” published in Stroke and presented at the 2026 International Stroke Conference.
The researchers wrote that having both COPD and stroke increases the risk of mortality due to shared factors including inflammation, hypoxia and vascular abnormalities.
To study the relationship between the two conditions, the researchers used data from the Centers for Disease Control to examine mortality trends and disparities in individuals aged 55 and older with both COPD and stroke.
Between 1999 and 2020, there were 204,674 stroke-related deaths among that age group in the United States. The overall age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) declined sharply from 18.72 in 1999 to 12.84 in 2007. The decline slowed after that to 10.70 in 2018, then increased to 12.26 in 2020.
Men had higher AAMRs (16.09) compared to women (10.99). Breaking it down by ethnicity, the results were as follows:
- Non-Hispanic whites: 13.92
- Non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives: 13.40
- Non-Hispanic Blacks: 12.71
- Hispanics: 6.80
- Asian/Pacific Islanders: 5.24
Geographically, the southern United States had the highest AAMR (14.41). It was followed by the Midwest (13.86), West (12.97) and Northeast (9.78). Rural areas had a much higher AAMR (18.07) than urban areas (11.97).
The researchers concluded that these results highlight the “importance of early vascular risk assessment in chronic pulmonary patients,” as well as “the need for a multidisciplinary approach that combines pulmonology and stroke prevention, especially in resource-limited settings where the dual disease burden is spreading.”
