Global burden of stroke in 2010: a pooling analysis of worldwide population-based data on stroke incidence

Aim: Stroke remains one of the most devastating conditions of all neurological diseases. Reliable information about its prevalence worldwide is essential to the development of national policies for the prevention and control of this condition. Subjects and methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the incidence of first-ever stroke and searched for population-based studies published between 1990 and 2013. Stroke incidence was analyzed by country income: high-income countries (HICs) and low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). We used epidemiological modeling to define age- and sex-specific incidence rates in the two country income groups together with 2010 United Nations population sizes to estimate the global incidence of stroke. Results: Forty-two studies met the inclusion criteria (26,672,101 participants; 74,840 patients). In HICs, the incidence at age 45–49 years was 44.98 (40.75–49.65) for males and 46.52 (42.39–51.05) for females, and at age 85–89 years, it was 2,215.02 (1,919.53–2,554.82) for males and 1,620.37 (1,416.65–1,852.83) for females. The stroke incidence for both males and females was higher in LMICs than in HICs at age 45–49 years (69.63 [57.99–83.60] and 58.84 [49.63–69.76], respectively). Furthermore, it was higher in LMICs than HICs at age 85–89 years (2,777.58 [2,035.20–3,780.31] and 2,311.43 [1,752.27–3,043.48], respectively). Globally, more than 6 million people experienced first-stroke events in 2010, with 70.57 % of sufferers living in LMICs. Conclusion: Stroke is a significant public health burden worldwide. The prevention, detection, treatment, and control of this condition should be a top priority. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.