Burden of Stroke Attributable to High Temperature Increasing

FRIDAY, April 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The burden of stroke attributable to high temperature is increasing rapidly, according to a study published online April 10 in Neurology.

Chunrun Qu, from the Xiangya Hospital and XiangYa School of Medicine in Changsha, China, and colleagues estimated the distribution of stroke burden and examined the different types of stroke burden attributable to different climatic conditions.

The researchers found that the burden of stroke attributable to nonoptimal temperature continued to increase, with aging playing a key role in the increase. Overall, 521,031 deaths and 9,423,649 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to stroke were recorded globally due to nonoptimal temperature in 2019. Men had a heavier burden than women globally (age-standardized mortality rate [ASMR], 7.70 versus 5.89; age-standardized DALY rate [ASDR], 139.69 versus 96.02). At the regional level, the heaviest burden was seen in central Asia (ASMR, 18.12; ASDR, 327.35). Low temperature currently contributes to the main burden (deaths, 474,002; DALYs, 8,357,198), but there has been a rapid increase in the burden due to high temperature, especially among those aged older than 10 years. This burden was disproportionately concentrated in low sociodemographic index regions, such as Africa.

"Our ecological study provides various pieces of information for clinical practice and public health work on reducing stroke burden attributed to nonoptimal temperature," the authors write. "The burden associated with high temperature has been gradually increasing and will grow sharply in the future."

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