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FUTURE: Stroke at young age increases long-term mortality risk
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Adults aged younger than 50 years who experienced a stroke were at significantly higher risk for death within 20 years, compared with the general population, according to study results published in JAMA.
Researchers in the Netherlands conducted a study to investigate long-term mortality and cause of death after first acute stroke among adults aged 18 to 50 years and to compare this with nationwide age- and sex-matched mortality rates. The prospective FUTURE study included 959 consecutive patients with a first-ever ischemic stroke (n=606), transient ischemic attack (n=262) or hemorrhagic stroke (n=91) admitted to a single center between 1980 and 2010. Survival of these patients was assessed on Nov. 1, 2012.
During the median follow-up of 11 years, 192 patients died. The cumulative 20-year mortality risk among 30-day survivors was 24.9% for patients with TIA; 26.8% for patients with ischemic stroke; and 13.7% for patients with hemorrhagic stroke.
“For each stroke type, observed 20-year mortality among 30-day survivors exceeded expected mortality in the general population,” the researchers wrote.
In addition, cumulative 20-year mortality among 30-year ischemic stroke survivors was higher among men, compared with women (33.7% vs. 19.8%). The researchers calculated a standardized mortality ratio of 3.6 for men and 4.3 for women.
“We showed that even 20 years following stroke in adults aged 18 through 50 years, patients remain at a significantly higher risk of death compared with the general population,” Loes C.A. Rutten-Jacobs, MSc, of Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands, and colleagues wrote. “… This may suggest that the underlying (vascular) disease that caused the stroke at relatively young age continues to put these patients at increased risk for vascular disease throughout their lives.”
Disclosure: One researcher reports serving as a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim and receiving a grant from the Fellowship Dutch Brain Foundation.
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