Sex Differences in Young Adult Stroke Severity Using Linked Colorado-All Payer's Claims Database and the Get With The...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Young women experience more first-time strokes than men, possibly due to better detection of milder strokes.
• Women may present with nondebilitating symptoms more often than men, influencing stroke detection rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate sex differences in stroke severity among young adults aged 18-55.
• To compare stroke severity between young men and women using linked healthcare databases.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Colorado All Payer's Claims Database linked with the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Registry.
• Included young adults (18-55) with index strokes between January 2012 and April 2019.
• Employed logistic regression to analyze National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores and determine odds ratios for mild stroke severity by sex and age groups (18-45 and 46-55).

Main Results:

• Analysis included 1311 stroke cases (50.2% women); women were younger and had lower blood pressure.
• No significant sex differences in overall stroke severity were found for either age group.
• Younger women (18-45) had a higher likelihood of mild hemorrhagic strokes, but not ischemic strokes, compared to men.

Conclusions:

• Young women experiencing strokes do not present with overall milder severity compared to young men.
• Findings suggest that while detection patterns may differ, the underlying stroke severity is comparable between sexes in this age group.