Stroke in China: disease burden and attributable risk factors

Abstract

Stroke is one of major challenge in healthcare systems. A comprehensive overview of trends in stroke prevalence can provide a better understanding of the burden of stroke disease. This paper summarizes the results of national wide epidemiological surveys of stroke and attributable risk factors in China. According to the analysis, the disease burden of stroke in China is increasing, with an increasing trend in incidence, prevalence, and mortality. In China, the stroke burden showed significant age differences, gender differences, geographical differences and urban-rural differences. The north-eastern and central parts of China are the regions with a higher stroke burden. Hypertension, metabolic disturbances, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle are all risk factors for stroke, with hypertension being the most prevalent risk factor in many epidemiological surveys. Recent data on the burden of disease in China are scarce. It is necessary to investigate more comprehensively the burden of disease and the control of associated risk factors for stroke. There are still relatively few national surveys in China and the available data are insufficient to show changes in the burden of stroke disease over the last five years. Due to the methodological limitation in collecting epidemiological survey data, timely, accurate, high-return rate survey data is urgently needed. These results shed light on the characteristics of stroke burden and attributable risk factors, providing a valid basis for stroke prevention strategies in China.