People with Parkinson's disease (neurodegenerative condition) are at increased risk of head injuries, traumatic brain injury, and subsequent fatality.

To compare the occurrence of head injuries and mortality after injuries and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in people with and without Parkinson's disease (PD).

This register-based research was conducted on the Finnish Parkinson's Disease (FINPARK) cohort that encompassed 22,189 Finnish people diagnosed with PD during the year 1996 to 2015. After excluding the people with a history of head injury, 20,514 people with PD were included. For every individual with PD, 1-7 matching people without PD and earlier head injury were recognized in terms of age, gender, and residence. Hazard ratios for head injury were evaluated via Cox proportional hazard model. Mortality was examined via the logistic regression model.

Those with PD had a 2.16 higher probability of all head injuries and a 1.97 higher risk of TBI following the adjustment for comorbidities, age, and gender. People with PD had higher 1-year mortality after any kind of head injury (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.44), TBI (aOR = 1.33) or non-TBI head injury (aOR = 1.72) compared to healthy individuals.

An elevated risk of mortality was found 6 months following TBI and 1 month following non-TBI injury in people with PD. Those with PD and head injury also exhibited greater 1-year mortality compared to people with PD and no head injury.

Individuals with PD exhibit a greater risk of head injury and higher post-injury mortality compared to those without this disease.