National Trends in Patients Hospitalized for Stroke and Stroke Mortality in France, 2008 to 2014.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Stroke is the leading cause of death in women and the third leading cause in men in France. In young adults (ie, <65 years old), an increase in the incidence of ischemic stroke was observed at a local scale between 1985 and 2011. After the implementation of the 2010 to 2014 National Stroke Action Plan, this study investigates national trends in patients hospitalized by stroke subtypes, in-hospital mortality, and stroke mortality between 2008 and 2014.

METHODS

Hospitalization data were extracted from the French national hospital discharge databases and mortality data from the French national medical causes of death database. Time trends were tested using a Poisson regression model.

RESULTS

From 2008 to 2014, the age-standardized rates of patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke increased by 14.3% in patients <65 years old and decreased by 1.5% in those aged ≥65 years. The rate of patients hospitalized for hemorrhagic stroke was stable (+2.0%), irrespective of age and sex. The proportion of patients hospitalized in stroke units substantially increased. In-hospital mortality decreased by 17.1% in patients with ischemic stroke. From 2008 to 2013, stroke mortality decreased, except for women between 45 and 64 years old and for people aged ≥85 years.

CONCLUSIONS

An increase in cardiovascular risk factors and improved stroke management may explain the increase in the rates of patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke. The decrease observed for in-hospital stroke mortality may be because of recent improvements in acute-phase management.