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.
Kulesh
Sergey D
SD
Department of Neurology, Grodno State Medical University, Gorkogo Str, 80, 230009 Grodno, Belarus. s_kulesh@yahoo.com
Filina
Nina A
NA
Frantava
Nataliya M
NM
Zhytko
Natallia L
NL
Kastsinevich
Tatsiana M
TM
Kliatskova
Liudmila A
LA
Shumskas
Mechyslovas S
MS
Hilz
Max J
MJ
Schwab
Stefan
S
Kolominsky-Rabas
Peter L
PL
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