[Stroke in the elderly: prevalence and frequency of hospitalization; the ERGO study (Erasmus Rotterdam Health and the Elderly). The ERGO research group].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the prevalence of self-reported and medically confirmed stroke, and the degree to which the event leads to hospitalization.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

The suburb of Ommoord in Rotterdam.

METHODS

The Rotterdam Study is a single centre population-based prospective follow-up study of 7983 subjects, aged 55 years and over, living in the suburb of Ommoord of Rotterdam. Information of stroke was based on the question 'Did you ever suffer from a stroke, diagnosed by a physician'? If yes, additional medical information was obtained from the general practitioner. The present analysis is based on the first 4982 participants of the Rotterdam Study (1878 men and 3104 women) of whom data on both self-reported and medically confirmed stroke were available.

RESULTS

Prevalence of self-reported stroke was 5.8% for men and 4.0% for women. Of self-reported strokes 55% could medically be confirmed, yielding a prevalence of 3.5% for men and 1.9% for women. The prevalence of first and only stroke was 4.5% and 3.0% for men and 3.3% and 1.7% for women, respectively and increased with age. The percentage of hospitalization was 55% for self-reported first and only stroke and 61% for medically confirmed first and only stroke.

CONCLUSION

Among elderly subjects, self-reported stroke was relatively common and in 55% the stroke was confirmed by medical records. About 55% of the patients with a first stroke were hospitalized.