Epidemiology of stroke and its subtypes in Chinese vs white populations

Neurology: July 16, 2013

Objective: We aimed to systematically assess the evidence for differences in the incidence of stroke and distribution of its subtypes in Chinese compared with white populations.

Methods: We comprehensively sought studies conducted since 1990 in Chinese populations of 1) first-ever stroke incidence (community-based studies only), and 2) pathologic types/subtypes of stroke (hospital- or community-based studies of first-ever or recurrent strokes). We identified community-based studies in white populations from a recent systematic review. For each study, we calculated age-standardized stroke incidence and the proportions of each pathologic type and ischemic subtype, using random-effects meta-analysis to pool proportions of stroke types/subtypes in Chinese and in white populations. Read more