title: Sex Disparities in Stroke: Women Have More Severe Strokes but Better Survival Than Men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Uncertainty remains about whether stroke affects men and women similarly. We studied differences between men and women with regard to stroke severity and survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We used the Danish Stroke Registry, with information on all hospital admissions for stroke in Denmark between 2003 and 2012 (N=79 617), and the Danish Register of Causes of Death. Information was available on age, sex, marital status, stroke severity, stroke subtype, socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk profile. We studied only deaths due to the index stroke, with the assumption that death reported on death certificates as due to stroke was related to the index stroke if death occurred within the first week or month after stroke. Multivariate Cox regression analysis and multiple imputation were applied. Stroke was the cause of death for 4373 and 5512 of the 79 617 patients within 1 week (5.5%) or 1 month (6.9%), respectively. After the age of 60 years, women had more severe strokes than men. Up to ages in the mid-60s, no difference in the risk of death from stroke was seen between the 2 sexes. For people aged >65 years, however, the risk gradually became greater in men than in women and significantly so (>15%) from the mid-70s (adjusted for age, marital status, stroke severity, stroke subtype, socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk factors). Results were essentially the same when analyzing deaths within 1 week, 1 month and ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke separately.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stroke affects women and men differently. Elderly women were affected more severely than elderly men but were more likely to survive.
authors.affiliation: Section of statistics, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark (C.D., K.K.A.).
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dehlendorff
authors.affiliation: Section of statistics, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark (C.D., K.K.A.).
authors.forename: Klaus Kaae
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark (T.S.O.).
authors.forename: Tom Skyhøj
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Olsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: mortality; sex; stroke; stroke severity; survival