Dementia medication use by persons with Parkinson disease (PD) varies by race/ethnicity and sex, according to a recent study. In addition, potentially inappropriate prescribing is common among those being treated for cognitive impairment and varies by race/ethnicity, sex, and geography. This cross-sectional analysis included adult Medicare beneficiaries (aged ≥65 years) with PD diagnosis with 12 consecutive months of inpatient, outpatient, and prescription drug coverage from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014. Researchers found:

• Of 268,407 Medicare beneficiaries with PD (mean [SD] age, 78.9 [7.5]; 134,575 males [50.1%]), most were identified as white (232,831 [86.7%]), followed by black (14,629 [5.5%]), Hispanic (7,176 [2.7%]), Asian (7,115 [2.7%]), and Native American (874 [0.3%]).
• Among these beneficiaries, 73,093 (27.2%) were given a prescription for at least 1 anti-dementia medication.
• Dementia drugs were more likely to be prescribed to black and Hispanic beneficiaries and less likely for Native American beneficiaries.
• Women were less likely than men to be given a prescription for dementia medication.