Obesity and diabetes likely causes of a reversal in a downward trend in stroke occurrence.
Older baby boomers–those born between 1945 and 1954–can proudly boast
a new label: the “stroke-healthiest generation,” according to a Rutgers
study that found the lowest incidence of ischemic stroke in this age
group within the past 20 years. In contrast, the rate of stroke more
than doubled among Generation X, people born between 1965 and 1974,
during the same time period.
The study was published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
“The incidence of stroke has decreased significantly overall since
1950, due to the advancement of medicine,” said Joel N. Swerdel, lead
author of the study conducted at the Cardiovascular Institute of New
Jersey at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “However, we found
that trend to be reversing in younger generations where obesity and
diabetes are likely causing an increase in cardiovascular disease.”
Swerdel, who is now manager of epidemiology analytics at Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Titusville, N.J., conducted the research under the
guidance of John B. Kostis, the John G. Detwiler Professor of Cardiology
and director of the Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey. Data from
the study was derived from the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition
System (MIDAS), a statewide database of all admissions to non-federal
hospitals in New Jersey for up to 30 years that was developed and is
maintained by the institute.
The researchers analyzed more than 225,000 records of stroke data
between 1995 and 2014, separated into five groups, each with a 10-year
age span. The analyses found that persons born in the 20 years before
1945 and those born in the 20 years after 1954 had higher risks of
stroke. Only the group who are now between 60 and 70 years of age saw a
reduction in the incidence of stroke during the range of years included
in the study.
“A higher incidence of stroke in individuals born before 1945 was not
surprising, as they did not benefit from the availability of
lipid-lowering drugs, such as statins and anti-hypertensive therapy, as
did younger generations,” said Kostis, the principal investigator of the
study. “However, the increasing incidence of stroke in the youngest
generation–those who are between the ages of 35 and 50–is alarming and
merits further research.”
The researchers contribute the upward trend to several factors,
including the lack of adherence to prescribed treatment, such as taking
medicine to control blood-pressure, and a significant increase in
obesity and the prevalence of diabetes, both risk factors of
cardiovascular disease.
Although MIDAS includes data from New Jersey, the researchers believe
the evidence is indicative of trends across the United States.
“New Jersey has a large, diverse population, similar to the overall
country,” said Kostis, who noted that health insurance coverage in New
Jersey also is similar to the rest of the U.S. They did not find
differences in the trends between male and female individuals, nor did
they examine rates of stroke based on race or ethnicity.
The researchers noted that advanced technology used to diagnose stroke,
such as MRIs, could contribute to the increased rates, as could changes
to admissions procedures during the time-frame studied. However, they
believe these effects to be negligible based on evidence from other
studies. As an administrative database, MIDAS also did not provide the
researchers with individual risk factors, such as smoking or other
health disorders that my contribute to an increased risk of stroke.
I am a professional ICT personnel, Chief System Analyst, blogger, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer at Gatmond Internationals inc. and Country Director at Wake Up For Your Right Internationals USA (Nigeria Branch).
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