The number of young people affected by strokes is increasing worldwide, according to a new study the Huffington Post reported
New research found that the burden of stroke is increasing worldwide, particularly among young and middle-aged adults in low and middle-income countries. The study took a comprehensive look at stroke rates by country and region and found that strokes have increased 25 percent globally in the past 20 years in people ages 20 to 64.
Currently, 20 to 64 year olds make up 31 percent of all strokes. Before 1990, they made up just 25 percent, according to the Huffington Post.
"The worldwide stroke burden is growing very fast," Valery Feigin, director of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, told CBC News. "It's increasing at an increased pace, more than we expected, disproportionately affecting low- to middle-income countries."
A journal commentary accompanying the study called the influx of stroke younger adults "a worrying thing." Strokes are normally associated with the elderly.
Researchers report that although the average age of people who suffer strokes has slightly increased, most of the burden of stroke (overall illness and death) has shifted from people older than 75 years to people 74 years and younger. This group accounts for 62 percent of new strokes, 45 percent of deaths, and 72 percent of illness and disability. These figures are significantly greater in low- and middle-income countries.
Researchers also studied the incidence of stroke in children and young people, finding that more than 83,000 people aged 20 years and younger are affected by stroke each year; and estimated 0.5 percent of all strokes occur in this age group.
In the study, researchers warn that the shift in stroke burden toward younger populations is likely to continue, and the global burden of stroke may double by 2030 unless effective preventive strategies are implemented.
"There is now an urgent need for culturally acceptable and affordable stroke prevention, management and rehabilitation strategies to be developed and implemented worldwide," Feigin said in a statement.
Feigin said the epidemic of obesity, and Type 2 diabetes in children and young people is increasing worldwide, which will be important risk factors for stroke 20 or 30 years down the road. More than 90 percent of strokes are preventable through lifestyle changes such as avoiding fast food and quitting smoking, Feigin said.
Researchers said if the trends in low-income and middle-income countries continue, there will be almost 12 million stroke deaths and 70 million stroke survivors worldwide in less than 20 years, the Huffington Post reported.
"In view of the worldwide epidemic of diabetes, and increasing prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors in young adults and overall, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, the shift in stroke burden towards younger populations is likely to continue globally unless effective preventive strategies are urgently implemented," the study's authors concluded.
