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Updated: May 23, 2026
05:32
Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Model of Stroke
Published on: August 11, 2023
Age- and ethnic-specific sex differences in stroke risk
Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson1, Jeffrey J Wing, Brisa N Sánchez
1Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Gender Medicine
|March 27, 2012
Summary
Men face higher stroke risk than women until age 79. After this age, stroke risk becomes similar for both sexes in Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Further research is needed to understand why women lose stroke protection as they age.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Stroke risk varies by sex and age in white populations, with women experiencing protection until 75-85 years.
- Mexican Americans (MAs) have a higher stroke risk than non-Hispanic whites (NHWs).
- Limited data exist on age- and sex-specific stroke incidence in MAs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare age-specific sex differences in stroke risk between MAs and NHWs.
- To investigate how stroke risk patterns differ by sex across age groups in these populations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Project.
- Analyzed 2421 incident strokes (ischemic, intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage) in individuals aged 45+ from 2000-2007.
- Employed Poisson regression with generalized additive models to assess sex, age, and race/ethnicity effects on stroke risk.
Main Results:
- Men exhibited higher stroke risk than women in both NHW and MA groups aged 45-79 years.
- The disparity in stroke risk between men and women decreased with advancing age.
- No significant sex difference in stroke risk was observed after age 79.
Conclusions:
- The loss of stroke protection in aging women across all racial/ethnic groups requires further investigation.
- Understanding the underlying mechanisms for age-related sex differences in stroke risk is crucial for targeted prevention strategies.
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