Epidemiology of non-fatal stroke in southeastern Iran

ABSTRACT

Three hundred and fifty-nine consecutive patients with stroke were admitted to the neurology department of Kerman University of Medical Sciences affiliated hospitals between May 1992 and May 1994, and were interviewed within one week after admission to the hospital. Mean SD age was 65.4 +/- 12.1 years for men and 63.3 +/- 14.3 years for women. Sixty-two and two-tenth% of the strokes were due to cerebral infarction and 21% were due to intracerebral hemorrhage. In 10.4% of the cases, subarachnoid hemorrhage was ascertained as the cause of the stroke while in 6.4% of the cases, the type of stroke could not be specified with certainty. The presenting symptoms were hemiparesis or hemiplegia in 79.6%, speech disorder in 38.0% and clouded consciousness in 21.2% of the patients. Sixty-three and three-tenth per cent of the cases had hypertension. Sixty-five and eight-tenth% had hypercholesterolemia shortly after onset. Sixteen and three-tenth% had diabetes mellitus. The overall case-fatality rate at the time of discharge was 24.7%. The rate for intracerebral hemorrhage was 33.6% and for cerebral infarction 20.3%. The age gender-adjusted mean annual incidence of stroke in men and women were estimated to be 44.4 and 59.0 per 100,000 population, respectively