Strokes among adults under 55 up by more than 80 percent, long-term study finds

Strokes are increasingly affecting younger adults. That is the finding of a study in the journal Neurology, published by the American Academy of Neurology and reported by ScienceDaily on 15 October. The researchers analysed data from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky from 1993 to 2020. It covered 2,076 people aged 20 to 54 who had a first stroke.

According to the study, the rate rose from 33.9 per 100,000 person-years in 1993–94 to 62.2 in 2020 – an increase of about 83 percent. Ischaemic strokes, in which a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked, nearly doubled, from 23.8 to 47.3. Brain haemorrhages showed no comparable rise. The share of patients with substance use, mostly cannabis, grew from 4.6 to 40.2 percent. At the same time, 30-day mortality fell from 11.7 to 9.4 percent.

High blood pressure, diabetes and atrial fibrillation were more common among the younger patients. The authors stress that the study does not prove cause and effect, as there was no comparison group without stroke. "Our findings show that stroke is becoming increasingly common in younger adults," said lead author Emily R. Fisher of the University of Cincinnati. In her view, risk factors should be identified and managed early in adulthood.