Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42839248›Full record

ArticleNeurological research and practice2026

Place and cause of death among people with chronic neurological diseases in Munich: a population-based study using death certificates.

Sarah Kristina Bublitz, Claudia Bausewein, Veronika Detter, Berend Feddersen, Matthias Graw, André Klima, Patricia Klotz, Stefan Lorenzl, Sabine Gleich

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Article in Neurological research and practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Sarah Kristina BublitzInstitute of Palliative Care, Paracelsus Medical Private University, Salzburg, Austria. sarah.bublitz@pmu.ac.at.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3258-543X
Claudia BauseweinDepartment of Palliative Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Medizin, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Veronika DetterDepartment of Forensic Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Medizin, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Berend FeddersenDepartment of Palliative Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Medizin, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Matthias GrawDepartment of Forensic Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Medizin, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
André KlimaDepartment of Public Health, Munich, Germany.
Patricia KlotzDepartment of Forensic Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Medizin, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Stefan LorenzlInstitute of Palliative Care, Paracelsus Medical Private University, Salzburg, Austria.
Sabine GleichDepartment of Forensic Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Medizin, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAccess to palliative care is often delayed and fragmented for patients with chronic neurological diseases. This study aimed to characterize the place and cause of death among individuals with chronic neurological diseases to help identify potential gaps in palliative care provision.

methodIn this cross-sectional study, all death certificates from the city of Munich, Germany (2020-2023) were reviewed. Cases were included if malignant brain tumours, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or other motor neuron diseases, Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS) or other neurodegenerative or neuromuscular diseases were recorded as the cause of death or as a comorbidity.

resultsOf 60,357 deaths, 2,536 individuals (4.2%) had at least one chronic neurological disease. The most common place of death was the hospital (43.8%), followed by nursing homes (25.9%) and the private home (25.0%), with variations among disease subgroups. Overall, the neurological disease was recorded as the immediate or underlying cause of death in 57.3% of cases, while in the remaining cases it was documented as a comorbidity, reflecting its presence without formal causal attribution to death. DISCUSSION: This population-level analysis provides insight into the place and circumstances of death for a large cohort of patients with chronic neurological diseases in a major German metropolitan area and highlights substantial heterogeneity in end-of-life trajectories. The findings indicate that mortality statistics based on death certificates reflect structural limitations in cause-of-death attribution. Nevertheless, place of death remains a robust indicator, showing high hospital utilization and limited hospice use across most diagnostic groups, underscoring potential gaps in goal-concordant care.

Indexed as

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosisDeath certificatesGoal-concordant careNeuropalliative carePalliative careParkinson’s disease

Identifiers

PMID42839248
PMCPMC13644117

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.