Incidence and prognosis of stroke in the Valle d'Aosta, Italy. First-year results of a community-based study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

We sought to determine the incidence rate, risk factors, and prognosis of stroke in Valle d'Aosta, Italy, to provide information for planning regional health-care facilities.

METHODS

We undertook a prospective study of all new cases of stroke in the geographically defined population of 114,325 residents of Valle d'Aosta in northern Italy.

RESULTS

In the first year of the study (January 1-December 31, 1989), 254 cases of first stroke were registered. The crude annual incidence rate was 2.23/1,000, 1.98/1,000 for men and 2.46/1,000 for women. After adjustment to the 1988 Italian population, the incidence rate for first stroke was 2.15/1,000 per year, 2.48/1,000 per year for men and 1.99/1,000 per year for women. The pathological diagnosis was cerebral infarction in 67%, intracranial hemorrhage in 15%, and unknown in 18%. The overall 30-day case-fatality rate was 31%. In survivors, Barthel Index Score recorded at 30 days from stroke onset showed that 100 patients (62%) were dependent in activities of daily living.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results do not differ significantly from those reported in Umbria, the only similar study performed in Italy, and support non-Italian data as to risk factors in stroke.