Stroke, Vol 24, 1635-1639, Copyright © 1993 by American Heart Association
S al Rajeh, A Awada, G Niazi and E Larbi
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We sought to determine the crude incidence rate,
patterns, and risk factors associated with different types of stroke in a
defined Saudi population. METHODS: Records of 500 (342 male, 158 female)
consecutive patients with first-ever stroke admitted from December 1982 to
June 1992 in a hospital that exclusively serves the Saudi Arabian National
Guard community were reviewed. Diagnosis was confirmed by brain computed
tomography, and the most likely etiology was determined on the basis of
relevant clinical, radiological, and laboratory data. RESULTS: The mean age
of the patients was 63 +/- 17 years. Males predominated in all types of
stroke (P < .001). The crude annual incidence rate was 43.8 per 100,000.
Ischemic strokes accounted for 76.2%, and these included 52% with large and
24.2% with lacunar infarctions. Intracerebral hemorrhage was detected in
21.4%, whereas subarachnoid hemorrhage was rare (2.4%). Hypertension (56%),
diabetes mellitus (42%), and cardiopathy (33%) were common risk factors.
Sixty- one patients (12%) died during the first month after their stroke.
CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that stroke incidence is low in Saudi
Arabia compared with industrialized countries, which could be because of
the predominance of young age groups. The overall distribution of stroke
types was closer to that of Western populations than to the Japanese, in
whom hemorrhagic strokes are highly prevalent. However, the high combined
frequencies of lacunar infarctions and intracerebral hemorrhages suggest
that disease of the small cerebral arteries played a more important role in
Saudis than in Western populations.
ARTICLES
Stroke in a Saudi Arabian National Guard community. Analysis of 500 consecutive cases from a population-based hospital
Division of Neurology, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.