Incidence and case-fatality of stroke on the East border of the European union: The Grodno Stroke Study.
OBJECTIVE
The epidemiology of stroke in Belarus is unclear. Therefore, a population-based register of stroke was set up in western Belarus to determine incidence and case-fatality in a defined urban population.


METHODS
The Grodno Stroke Study is a prospective community-based research among 311 134 residents of the city of Grodno, Belarus. Standard definitions and multiple overlapping sources of ascertainment were used to identify all cases of first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes in all age groups occurring between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2003.


RESULTS
During 3 years, 2069 cases of first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes were registered. Mean age at stroke onset was 65.8 ± 11.6 years; rate of hospitalization was 89.7%. The crude annual incidence rate of first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes for the study period was 222 per 100,000 (95% CI, 212 to 233). Incidence adjusted to the European standard population and to the World Health Organization world standard population was 287 per 100,000 (95% CI, 274 to 301) and 220 per 100,000 (95% CI, 210 to 231), respectively. The 28-day case-fatality rate was 26.1%. The prevalence of hypertension among all first-ever-in-a-lifetime stroke patients was 87.5%; 529 (25.6%) were current smokers. A total 23.1% of patients had atrial fibrillation, 19.1% had past myocardial infarction, 14.7% had diabetes mellitus, and 22.1% had hypercholesterolemia.


CONCLUSIONS
High incidence and case-fatality rates determine the considerable burden of stroke in Belarus and might at least partly be related to the high prevalence of risk factors among the population.
Department of Neurology, Grodno State Medical University, Gorkogo Str, 80, 230009 Grodno, Belarus. s_kulesh@yahoo.com
Sergey D
SD
Kulesh
Nina A
NA
Filina
Nataliya M
NM
Frantava
Natallia L
NL
Zhytko
Tatsiana M
TM
Kastsinevich
Liudmila A
LA
Kliatskova
Mechyslovas S
MS
Shumskas
Max J
MJ
Hilz
Stefan
S
Schwab
Peter L
PL
Kolominsky-Rabas
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003710:Demography; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D002094:Republic of Belarus / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult