Is there a sex or race difference in stroke mortality?

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally.
• Previous studies suggest potential sex and race disparities in stroke outcomes.
• Understanding these differences is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To confirm previous findings on sex and race differences in stroke mortality.
• To investigate these differences across various stroke types and causes of death.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of administrative data for 40,450 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with acute stroke (1994-1996).
• Regression analyses to assess 1-year all-cause and cause-specific mortality.
• Adjustments for age, sex, race, comorbidities, and other relevant factors.

Main Results:

• Men with ischemic cerebral infarction or nonspecific stroke had 21%-35% higher mortality than women.
• No sex difference in mortality for subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage.
• Nonwhite patients with ischemic cerebral infarction had higher mortality, but this disappeared after adjustments.
• Higher risk of cerebrovascular disease death in men and white patients; higher risk of other cardiovascular disease death in nonwhite patients.

Conclusions:

• Sex differences in all-cause stroke mortality exist for ischemic and nonspecific stroke, but not for hemorrhagic stroke.
• Race differences in all-cause stroke mortality were not consistently observed after adjustments.
• Men and white patients showed a higher risk of death from cerebrovascular diseases.