Stroke Burden Surges Among US Adults

METHODOLOGY:

Data from 1990 to 2021 on ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in the US were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease study.
Cases of stroke were identified using criteria from the World Health Organization and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), 9th and 10th Revisions.
Researchers evaluated the incidence and prevalence of stroke, as well as mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost, years of life lost, and years lived with disability owing to stroke.

In 2021, the US recorded 0.41 million incident stroke cases (76% ischemic stroke) and 6.3 million prevalent stroke cases (5.1 million, 0.75 million, and 0.45 million involving ischemic stroke, ICH, and SAH, respectively). There were also 0.2 million stroke-related deaths and a loss of 3.9 million DALYs.
From 1990 to 2021, the crude prevalence increased by 66% for ischemic stroke, 78% for ICH, and 71% for SAH, and incident cases increased by 10%, 28%, and 50%, respectively.
Individuals aged 15-49 years had a 3% increase in the prevalence of stroke, and Alaska, Nevada, and Arkansas reported the greatest state-level increases in prevalence.
However, age-standardized rates for stroke incidence were reduced by 33%, mortality by 31%, and DALYs lost by 28%, with larger declines in each of these measures for ischemic stroke than for hemorrhagic stroke subtypes.

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