High Stroke Incidence in the Prospective Community-Based L’Aquila Registry (1994–1998)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Background and Purpose Changes in stroke incidence are likely to occur as a consequence of aging of the population, but evidence for this hypothesis is lacking. Methods A prospective community-based registry of first-ever strokes (1994 to 1998) classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) was established in the L’Aquila district, central Italy, with a total population of 297 838 (1991 census). Patients were identified by active monitoring of multiple sources, including general practitioners. Results In 1994, 819 patients (398 men and 421 women; mean±SD age, 74.8±11.3 years) suffered from a first-ever stroke. Eighty-nine percent of the patients had neuroimaging studies of the brain and were reclassified with the recent Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Neurology (ICD-10 NA). The occurrence of subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, and ill-defined events was 2.9%, 14.9%, 80.2%, and 2.0%, respectively....