Readily accessible
comparative data will help to shift the priority of stroke globally –
Global Stroke Statistics in the International
Journal of Stroke
The
inaugural annual review of country-specific stroke epidemiology in the
International Journal of Stroke article ‘Global Stroke Statistics’ uses an
extensive literature review with a major focus on published systematic reviews
on stroke incidence, and direct acquisition and collation of data from the
World Health Organization (WHO) to present the most current estimates of stroke
mortality for each country recognized by the WHO.
The paper, authored by some of the
world’s most eminent stroke researchers, includes stroke epidemiologist Amanda
Thrift, Peter Rothwell, Geoffrey Donnan, Virginia Howard, Dominique Cadilhac
and George Howard.
In
many countries, stroke is a lower priority than other diseases despite its
public health impact, partly due to a lack of readily accessible comparative
data to help make the case for the development of national stroke strategies.
To assist in this process we need a common repository of the latest published
information on the burden of stroke worldwide.
When
adjusted to the WHO World standard population, incidence rates for stroke ranged
from 41 per 100,000 people per year in Nigeria (1971-74) to 316 per 100,000
people per year in urban Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). Of the 123 countries
reporting mortality data to the WHO, crude mortality was greater in Kazhakstan
(in 2003) than any of the other countries reporting mortality data to the WHO. Some
countries like Montserrat, Kazhakstan and Albania had very high mortality
despite the presence of a relatively young population. Conversely, others, most
notably Japan, had a lower crude mortality than expected despite having a
relatively older population (approximately 23% were aged ≥65 years). This country-level
data is essential for citizens, clinicians and policy makers, so that action
can be taken at a local and global level to reduce the overall burden of
stroke.
