Stroke incidence nearly doubled among young adults from 1993 to 2020

Researchers found that stroke incidence nearly doubled among adults ages 20 to 54 in five counties in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky, rising from 33.9 cases per 100,000 person-years in 1993 to 1994 to 62.18 in 2020. The study included 2,076 first-ever strokes and was published in Neurology.

The rise was mainly driven by ischemic strokes, which occur when a blood vessel supplying the brain becomes blocked. Stroke incidence among older adults decreased, from 618.78 to 453.04 cases per 100,000 person-years. Among young adults who had strokes, the share who died within 30 days fell from 11.7% to 9.4%. Researchers also found increases in hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and documented substance use among stroke patients.

The study cannot establish why stroke incidence increased. Researchers noted that it measured risk factors among people who had strokes, without comparable data for people who did not, and that changes in diagnosis and imaging could have affected the results. They said more research is needed.