More and more young people are affected by stroke

A good 30 percent of strokes worldwide affect 20- to 64-year-olds

02/27/2014

While stroke used to be considered a disease in old age, more and more younger people are now affected. This resulted in an evaluation in the context of „Global Burden of Disease“-Study, a joint project of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank on the worldwide occurrence of the most common diseases. The results of the study were published in the journal „The Lancet“ released. Particularly dramatic: About every 20th stroke occurs in a child or adolescent. The German Stroke Society (DSG) and the German Neurological Society (DGN) have issued a joint notification.

With prosperity, the risk factors for stroke have grown
The „Global Burden of Disease“-According to the study, in 1990, 25 percent of all strokes accounted for the age group of 20- to 64-year-olds. In 2010, it was already 31 percent - and rising. „The increase in the burden of disease is not solely the result of increasing life expectancy, "reports Professor Gerhard F. Hamann, Chairman of the DSG and Director of the Department of Neurology to Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken in Wiesbaden. „Although the current study has not investigated the reasons for the global increase, we assume that the prosperity and risk factors in many countries are also adequate ", adds Professor Hans-Christoph Diener, Director of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Essen and Press spokesman of the DGN, added.

The main risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation. „High cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, overweight and an unhealthy diet also contribute to the risk. "According to the DSG and DGN, a healthy lifestyle and possibly medical treatment could prevent around 70 percent of all strokes worldwide become.

In stroke, cerebral hemorrhage is common in younger people
In the period from 1990 to 2010, strokes increased by 68 percent worldwide. The number of deaths increased by 26 percent and the number of years of disability by 12 percent. Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults. The situation has deteriorated, especially in developing and emerging countries, as well as in Eastern Europe. The number of new stroke cases in Russia has risen from 322 to 371 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 20 years. In Germany, on the other hand, there was a decline from 176 to 141 per 100,000 inhabitants in strokes. This dramatic difference is probably due to social reasons such as poorer medical care. „But it is also certain that a stroke through a healthy lifestyle is highly preventable and that the good stroke care in Germany has fortunately led to a decline in new cases. However, the total number of patients after a stroke increases, "says Professor Joachim Röther, chief physician of the Neurological Clinic of the Asklepios Clinic Altona and press spokesman of the DSG.

Strokes usually occur as a result of circulatory disorders in the brain, if the vessels have calcification bottlenecks and are blocked by blood clots. High blood pressure can also lead to mass bleeding in the brain. That affects about 15 percent of the cases. The „Global Burden of Disease“-According to the study, more than half of all deaths (51.7 percent) are due to cerebral hemorrhage, most of which affects middle-aged people. (Ag)