Stroke Was Third Most Common GBD Level 3 Cause of Death in 2021

FRIDAY, Sept. 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The global burden of stroke is considerable, according to a study published in the October issue of The Lancet Neurology.

Valery L. Feigin, M.D., Ph.D., from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, and colleagues estimated the incidence, prevalence, death, and disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) counts and age-standardized rates per 100,000 per year for stroke for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021.

The researchers found that stroke was the third most common Global Burden of Disease (GBD) level 3 cause of death in 2021 (7.3 million deaths; 10.7 percent of all deaths), after ischemic heart disease and COVID-19. Stroke was the fourth most common cause of DALYs (160.5 million DALYs; 5.6 percent). There were 93.8 million prevalent and 11.9 million incident strokes in 2021. There were disparities observed in stroke burden and risk factors by GBD region, country or territory, and sociodemographic index; in addition, from 2015 onward, there was a stagnation in the reduction of incidence. Some increases in the stroke incidence, death, prevalence, and DALY rates were seen in specific regions and subpopulations. Substantial increases were seen in DALYs attributable to high body mass index, high ambient temperature, high fasting plasma glucose, diet high in sugar-sweetened beverages, low physical activity, high systolic blood pressure, lead exposure, and diet low in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

"Our study findings continue to point out that currently used stroke prevention strategies are not sufficiently effective to halt, let alone reduce, the fast growing stroke burden," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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