title: Increased risk of stroke after trigeminal neuralgia--a population-based follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are no reports on the risk of stroke after trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The aim of this population-based follow-up study was to investigate whether the occurrence of TN is associated with a higher risk of developing stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1453 people with at least three ambulatory visits in 2001 with the principal diagnosis of TN were enrolled in the TN cohort. The non-TN cohort consisted of 5812 age- and sex-matched, randomly sampled subjects without TN. The 2-year stroke-free survival rate between the two groups was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio of stroke after adjustment for demographic and clinical covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the TN cohort, 73 patients developed stroke during follow-up, while in the non-TN cohort, 157 subjects suffered a stroke. The crude hazard ratio of stroke for the subjects with TN was 1.86 (95% CI, 1.41-2.45; p<0.0001). The adjusted hazard ratio was 1.76 (95% CI, 1.33-2.33; p<0.0001) after adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbid medical disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed a significantly increased risk of developing stroke after TN. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanism of this association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, 7 Chung Shan S. Rd, Taipei, Taiwan. panslcb@gmail.com
authors.forename: Shin-Liang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Li-Sheng
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming-Fang
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Yueh-Hsia
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Hsiu-Hsi
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000150:complications*