title: Long-term survival of older Australian women with a history of stroke.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although many people survive an initial stroke, little is known about long-term impacts of stroke on survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were used to compare 12-year survival rates in older women with prevalent stroke, incident stroke, and no stroke. Cox regression models were fitted to assess the effect of lifestyle and demographic characteristics on the relationship between stroke and all-cause mortality. The "no stroke" group was used as the reference category in all statistical models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 4% of the women reported a previous stroke (prevalent stroke). At survey 2 in 1999, a further 3% reported having a stroke between 1996 and 1999 (incident stroke). Stroke was significantly associated with reduced long-term survival. Age-adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) were: 1.64 (1.43-1.89) for the "prevalent stroke" group and 2.29 (1.97-2.66) for the "incident stroke" group. Adjusting for comorbidities reduced the HRs, but the risk of death was still significantly higher in the 2 stroke groups. Adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors did not make any further difference to the relationship between stroke and survival. However, obesity and past smoking were also risk factors for mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the long-term impacts of stroke on life expectancy and the importance of comorbidities and other lifestyle factors in affecting poststroke survival.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing, Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: Julie.Byles@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Byles
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing, Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Jerryl Lynn
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing, Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chojenta
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Isobel J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Hubbard
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: Stroke; comorbidity; survival; women