Incidence and Early Prognosis of Stroke in Espoo-Kauniainen Area, Finland, in 1972

Abstract

A stroke register has been operating in the Espoo-Kauniainen area, Finland, since January 1, 1972. The study population was 108,000 persons on January 1, 1972. In order to find totally new cases of stroke the following sources were utilized: hospitals and practicing physicians serving the study area were contacted regularly, death certificates were perused every two weeks, and copies of medical certificates or stroke patients applying for sick leave were received from The National Pensions Institute. During 1972 a total of 153 new stroke cases were registered, giving an incidence of 142/100,000/year. The young age structure of the study population (5.2% were 65 years or older) explains this relatively low incidence. When applied to the total population of Finland and adjusted for age and sex the incidence is 231/100,000/year. The total cases were distributed equally between men and women. Men in age groups 50 to 59 and 60 to 69 years had an incidence twice that of women. The opposite was true in the age group 70 to 79 years. The incidence increased steeply with age. Case fatality during the acute phase, the first three weeks, was 38% for all stroke cases. In the different clinical entities the case fatality was highest among intracerebral hemorrhages (66%) and lowest among ischemic cerebral infarction (27%). The results of the first year of registry give an incidence of stroke for Finland which is relatively high compared with many earlier studies from other countries.