ACCORDING to new findings, stroke prevalence in the USA increased across age groups in adults from 2011-2022. In 2021, stroke represented the fifth leading cause of death and one of the leading causes of morbidity in the US, costing residents an estimated $56.2 billion from 2019-2020. The age-standardized prevalence of self-reported stroke increased by 7.8% from 2011-2013 to 2020-2022, contrasting a 3.7% decrease in self-reported stroke in adults between 2006-2010. Researchers assessed stroke prevalence trends in the US during 2011-2022 in conjunction with a range of sociodemographic characteristics
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System dataset was used to assess stroke prevalence trends from 2011 to 2022. The dataset comprised 1,419,351 respondents from 2011 to 2013 and 1,220,972 from 2020 to 2022. The respondents are noninstitutionalized US civilian adults aged ≥18 monitored by random-digit-dialed landline and cellular telephone surveys.
Results revealed that throughout the study period, stroke prevalence increased by 14.6% in adults aged 18-44 years and 15.7% in adults aged 45-64 years from 2011 to 2022. Notably, the highest increase in stroke prevalence was among Hispanic adults, with a 16.1% rise, followed by 7.8% in Black adults and 7.2% in white adults. The highest quintile in stroke prevalence from 2020-2022 amongst states was in the South. Moreover, researchers assessed the relationship between education level and stroke prevalence and found that adults with less than a high school education had the most significant increase in stroke prevalence, at 18.2%.
The authors concluded that racial, ethnic, educational, and socioeconomic disparities exist in stroke prevalence and that the geographic concentration of high stroke prevalence in the southeastern US was consistent with previous findings of a region termed the “stroke belt”. The authors stated that a developed understanding of sociodemographic factors of stroke prevalence in the context of structural factors, such as discrimination, can inform public health interventions targeted at specific populations.
Reference:
Imoisili OE et al. Prevalence of stroke—behavioral risk factor surveillance system, United States, 2011–2022. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2024;73.
