Stroke Mortality Rates in Poland Did Not Decline Between 1984 and 1992

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Abstract
Background and Purpose Stroke mortality has decreased in most industrialized countries in recent decades. In Poland, as in other eastern European countries, mortality rates for stroke remain high. Methods The Warsaw Stroke Registry (WSR) registered patients in the Mokotów district of Warsaw from 1991 through 1992. The Warsaw Pol-MONICA study registered stroke patients in the North and South Praga regions of Warsaw from 1984 through 1992. Stroke incidence rates, case-fatality rates, and stroke mortality rates were computed based on both studies and compared with published mortality rates based on death certificates. Eight-year trends of stroke incidence, case-fatality rate, and mortality were derived from the Warsaw Pol-MONICA study. Results The WSR and Warsaw Pol-MONICA studies showed similar incidence rates, mortality rates, and 28-day case-fatality rates for stroke. Mortality rates from the WSR and the Warsaw Pol-MONICA study were similar to rates from death certificate data. Mortality rates in the group aged 35 to 64 years were higher in men (47.5 to 50/100 000 per year) than in women (30/100 000 per year). Conclusions Two different population-based studies suggest that stroke mortality is high in Poland because of high 28-day case-fatality rates. Stroke mortality failed to decline in Poland in the period 1984 through 1992 because neither case fatality nor stroke incidence declined in this period.