Prevalence of Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attack in the Elderly Population of an Italian Rural Community

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of stroke and transient ischaemic attack in the elderly population, including the oldest residents, of a rural Italian community. Methods: A door-to-door survey was performed between April and October 2001 in 2390 subjects aged 65 years and over. A symptom ques...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of epidemiology 2003, Vol.18 (9), p.879-882
Main Authors: Orlandi, Giovanni, Gelli, Andrea, Fanucchi, Simona, Tognoni, Gloria, Acerbi, Giovanni, Murri, Luigi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age Distribution
Age groups
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular Diseases
Disease prevalence rates
Epidemiology
Female
Health care
Health services
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Ischemic Attack, Transient - epidemiology
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Medical sciences
Nervous system diseases
Neurology
Older adults
Older people
Prevalence
Questionnaires
Rural areas
Rural Health
Sex Factors
Stroke
Stroke - epidemiology
Strokes
Symptoms
Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
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Summary:Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of stroke and transient ischaemic attack in the elderly population, including the oldest residents, of a rural Italian community. Methods: A door-to-door survey was performed between April and October 2001 in 2390 subjects aged 65 years and over. A symptom questionnaire validated by medical records and neurological examination was employed. Results: Complete information was available for 2260 subjects. The overall prevalence of stroke was 8.2% in males and 5.1% in females. In the very elderly, this increased to 10.7% in males and 10% in females and decreased only in males aged 90 years or over. The overall prevalence of transient ischaemic attack was 7% in males and 4.9% in females. This, too, increased with age, reaching 10.2% in males and 7.4% in females and decreased only in subjects of both sexes aged 85 years or over. Conclusions: An actual estimate of the high prevalence of cerebrovascular disease in the elderly population, even in very old subjects, was thus achieved. Appropriate health care services consequently need to be planned.
ISSN:0393-2990
1573-7284
DOI:10.1023/A:1025639203283