Daily variation and other factors affecting the occurrence of cerebrovascular accidents

A study was made of 1,630 Melbourne patients, mostly elderly, who had suffered a cerebral vascular accident in the community or while in hospital for another illness. There was a significant increase in age over the period of investigation (1970 to 1977) and the sex of the subjects was found to varying marginally with the side affected and the location of occurrence; a more important difference was observed in relation to ethnicity. There were significant tendencies for strokes to occur in winter and, for patients already hospitalized, in the middle of the week. The latter finding was largely confined to the spring. It is suggested that this may be due to the transition from weekend rest to the activity associated with ward routines at the beginning of the week.