More and More Young People Experiencing Strokes

An increasing number of young and middle aged people are experiencing strokes, a new large scale analysis by Auckland University of Technology found.

Published in The Lancet, the study reported a 25 percent increase over the last 20 years in the number of strokes among those between 20 and 64 years old. In all, individuals in this age group now comprise 31 percent of the total number of stroke cases, versus 25 percent prior to 1990.

For the first time, researchers were able to examine the incidence of stroke in children and young people. In doing so, they found that more than 83,000 people 20 and younger are affected by strokes annually worldwide. A total of 0.5 percent of all strokes occur in this age group.

The information for the study came from the first comprehensive, worldwide analysis of the regional and national burden of stroke between 1990 and 2010.

"This is the first study to compare incidence and impacts of stroke between countries on a global scale," Valery Feigin, director of the National Institute for stroke and Applied Neurosciences at AUT, said in a statement. "Now every country in the world has estimates of their stroke burden, based on the best available evidence."

The study uncovered significant differences in the number of strokes based on world region and national income levels. Parts of low- and middle-income countries in eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and south and east Asia exhibited up to 10 times as many stroke deaths than areas in western Europe, Australasia and North America.

"The worldwide stroke burden is growing very fast and there is now an urgent need for culturally acceptable and affordable stroke prevention, management and rehabilitation strategies to be developed and implemented worldwide," Feigin said.