Prevalence and risk factors of stroke in a rural area of northern China: a 10-year comparative study

Stroke is currently the leading cause of death in China; however, the past decade has produced no new epidemiological studies of stroke. Therefore, the current study aimed to compare the prevalence and risk factors of stroke between 2010 and 2019.

A comparative study was used to analyze the prevalence of risk factors for stroke in a population aged 65 years or older between 2010 and 2019. Demographic characteristics, risk factors, medical history, and other clinical characteristics were collected for all participants via door-to-door interviews and inpatient hospital records.

The standardized prevalence of stroke was 7.9% in 2010 and 14.2% in 2019 (p < 0.001). The prevalence of stroke was significantly higher in men than in women (p < 0.05) for all age groups. The risk factors of stroke were being male, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus in both 2010 and 2019. When comparing the risk factors between 2010 and 2019, these risk factors were statistically significantly more strongly associated with stroke in 2019 than in 2010.

The current study suggests that the prevalence of stroke increased nearly by twofold in a population aged 65 years or older within the past 10 years. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and being male were the primary risk factors. In addition, these factors were more significantly associated with stroke in 2019 compared to 2010.