Although stroke is traditionally associated with older people, a major new study published in The Lancet this month reveals that it is increasingly affecting middle-aged and young people around the world.
The study, the Global and Regional Burden of Stroke in 1990-2000, collated data from around the world to calculate both regional and country-specific estimates of stroke. They included 119 studies in the research - 58 from high-income countries and 61 from middle-income and low-income countries.
The team of researchers, led by Prof. Valery Feigin, director of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences at AUT University in New Zealand, compared the results over time to build up a picture of the overall burden of stroke in all 21 regions of the world for the years 1990, 2005 and 2010.
Stroke can occur at any age and by far the majority occur in people aged over 65. But the research highlights that a growing number of children and young people are affected.
Researchers found that globally, more than 83,000 people aged 20 and younger suffer from stroke every year - that is 0.5% of the total number of people affected.
The study authors say:
"In 2010, 5.2 million (31%) strokes were in children (aged 20 years old and younger) and young and middle-aged adults (20-64 years), to which children and young and middle-aged adults from low-income and middle-income countries contributed almost 74,000 (89%) and 4 million (78%), respectively, of the burden."
And the researchers warn that without effective global preventive strategies, this figure will likely continue to rise.
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