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(Stroke. 2008;39:1653.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

Epidemiological Transition of Stroke in China?

Thomas Truelsen, MD, PhD, DMSC Ruth Bonita, MPH, PhD

From the Department of Neurology (T.T.), Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen NV, Denmark; and the School of Population Health (R.B.), University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Correspondence to Thomas Truelsen, MD, PhD, DMSC, Department of Neurology, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. E-mail truelsen@post3.tele.dk

Key Words: epidemiology • incidence rate • stroke

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

See related article, pages 1668–1674.

Results from the long-term surveillance of stroke as part of the Sino-MONICA project in Beijing, published in this month’s issue of Stroke, show marked changes in both stroke incidence and stroke subtypes.¹ The authors conclude that characteristics of the stroke transition found over 2 decades and which reflected a period of economic development is in line with the theory of the epidemiological transition.² According to this theory, with economic and social development, the disease pattern in a population shifts from a predominance of nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases to chronic, noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers. A first step in the transition is associated with an increasing disease burden related to hypertension such as hemorrhagic stroke, whereas ischemic heart disease and ischemic stroke emerge at later stages in the transition. China and other Asian countries appear to be in the midstage of the transition supported by studies reporting higher hemorrhagic stroke rates compared with white populations in high-income countries.³

The authors suggest that economic development has had an early impact on lifestyle in Beijing, whereas the level of treatment and control of risk factors may be delayed.¹ In the Sino-MONICA population, the observed changes occurred during a period where total fat intake, cholesterol levels, and obesity increased and there was a modest improvement in the control of hypertension. In addition, in line with the fact that China is one of the largest producers and consumers of cigarettes, two-thirds of all . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Article:

Epidemiological Transition of Stroke in China: Twenty-One–Year Observational Study From the Sino-MONICA-Beijing Project

Dong Zhao, Jing Liu, Wei Wang, Zhechun Zeng, Jun Cheng, Jun Liu, Jiayi Sun, and Zhaosu Wu
Stroke 2008 39: 1668-1674. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]