The National Survey of Stroke. Incidence

The following estimates were made, based on data from The National Survey of Stroke: 1. About 297,000 persons were hospitalized annually for an initial stroke in the conterminous U.S. during the two-year baseline period 1975-76, an annual incidence rate of 140.7 per 100,000 population; 2. Incidence rates of initial strokes escalate rapidly with advancing age. Between the ages of 45 to 85, the average rates of increase in age-specific rates doubles from one 10-year age group to the next; and 3. Among persons over 45, the age-specific incidence rates are markedly higher for men than for women. After adjusting the crude incidence rates for men and women due to differences in their age composition, the average risk of an initial stroke is about 44 percent higher for men than for women. However, this statistic primarily represents the fact that males have a 60 percent higher age-adjusted incidence rate than do females for infarction strokes; whereas, the age-adjusted incidence rate for hemorrhagic strokes is 53 percent higher for females than for males.