In the last 4 decades, stroke incidence rates in developing countries have increased by over 100% as the rates in developed countries over the same period decreased by 42%.

Over the past 40 years, stroke incidence rates in developing countries increased from 52 per 100,000 person-years in the 1970s to 117 per 100,000 person-years in the last decade. Stroke incidence in developed countries significantly decreased from 163 per 100,000 person-years to 94 per 100,000 person-years over the same period. The average early stroke case fatality was 27% in developing countries was also higher than the 25% rate in developed countries.

All available population-based stroke incidence studies in developing countries published between 1970 and 2008 were reviewed in this study.

Dr Valery Feigin, Director at the National Research Centre for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences, in Auckland declared that, “the pattern of changes in stroke mortality rates is most likely to be attributable to changes in stroke incidence rates.” He underscored the need to undertake urgent measures to arrest the imminent stroke epidemic and to reverse the alarming trend of increasing stroke burden in developing countries.

Session: Epidemiology: Regional and ethnic differences (Oral Abstract Session)
Venue: Parana – Level 3 (311A)
Time: 08:30 – 10:00