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US hospitalization for stroke rising among young adults, blacks
Overall stroke hospitalizations declined nearly 20% in the United States from 2000 to 2010, but there was an increase among adults aged 24 to 44 years and blacks, according to data published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“Overall, the hospitalization rate is down, with the greatest drop in people aged 65 and older,” Lucas Ramirez, MD, a neurology resident at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, said in a press release. “We can’t say from this study design what factors have led to this decline, but it may be that preventive efforts, such as better [BP] and blood sugar control, are having the effect that we want in this age group.”
Ramirez and colleagues analyzed discharge data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2000 to 2010 to assess race/ethnic-, age- and sex-specific trends in hospitalization rates for acute ischemic stroke.
Overall hospitalization for acute ischemic stroke decreased by 18.4% (from 250 per 100,000 to 204 per 100,000) from 2000 to 2010. The biggest decline occurred from 2000 to 2005 (average rate of change, 3.89% per year), but afterward the rates plateaued (–0.03% per year). Among age groups, patients aged 65 to 84 years had the largest decline in hospitalization for stroke (846 per 100,000 to 605 per 100,000; –28.5% per year), whereas patients aged 25 to 44 years experienced an increase in hospitalization for stroke (16 per 100,000 to 23 per 100,000; 43.8%)
Blacks had the highest rate of hospitalization compared with Hispanics and whites in 2010 (blacks, 358 per 100,000; Hispanics, 170 per 100,000; whites, 155 per 100,000). Although Hispanics and whites saw a decrease in hospitalizations during the study period, blacks experienced an increase of 13.7%.
“African Americans already had the highest rate of stroke hospitalizations, and it has unfortunately increased. This reinforces that we need to make sure that our efforts for stroke prevention and education reach all groups,” Ramirez said in the release. – by Tracey Romero
D isclosure: The Roxanna Todd Hodges Foundation funded the study. Ramirez reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see full study for a list of all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.