Cerebral thromboembolism among young women and men in Denmark 1977-1982

In the period 1977-1982, the Danish National Patient Register recorded 1000 cases of cerebral thromboembolic attacks among women 15-44 years of age, and 971 cases among men of the same age. Cerebral infarction accounted for 70% of cases and transient ischemic attacks (TIA) for the remaining 30%. By analysing this material we found an average age-adjusted incidence rate of cerebral thromboembolism of 14.4/100.000 among men and 15.5/100.000 among women. The incidence rates rose rapidly with increasing age. Women aged 15-34 had significantly higher incidence rates of brain infarction and TIA compared to those of men of the same age. This was reversed in the age group 35-44. The magnitude of the ratio between the female and the male mean incidence rates by increasing age corresponded exactly to the age distribution of the use of oral contraceptives in Denmark. The relative risk for developing cerebral thromboembolism among users of oral contraceptives was estimated to be 3.2-6.5. The mortality in male patients with brain infarction was 3.3% and in females 1.7%. The mean duration of stay in hospital was 8.8 days for TIA and about 26 days for cerebral infarction. Sixteen percent of men and 13.6% of women had hypertension during their stay.