This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hannerz, H. Articles by Nielsen, M. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hannerz, H. Articles by Nielsen, M. L. Related Collections Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage Acute Cerebral Infarction Acute Stroke Syndromes Cerebral Aneurysm, AVM, & Subarachnoid hemorrhage

(Stroke. 2001;32:1739.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Life Expectancies Among Survivors of Acute Cerebrovascular Disease

Harald Hannerz, Licentiate Martin Lindhardt Nielsen, MD

From the National Institute of Occupational Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Correspondence to Harald Hannerz, Department of Epidemiology and Surveillance, National Institute of Occupational Health, Lers Parkallé 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. E-mail hh{at}ami.dk

Background and Purpose—— Stroke survivors represent a large group of persons for whom age-differentiated life expectancy tables do not exist. Such tables are vital for many purposes. The aim of the present study was to estimate age- and sex-specific life expectancies among individuals who have survived the acute phase (1 month) of a cerebrovascular disease (CVD).

Methods—— All patients who were registered with the Swedish National Hospital Discharge Registry with an admission for CVD (ICD codes 430 to 438) between January 1, 1989, and November 30, 1993, and were alive at the end of 1993 (N=103 591) were followed for mortality rates in 1994. The same was done for 1983. Actuarial analyses were used to convert death rates into life expectancies.

Results—— Life expectancy among CVD survivors increased with time (1983 versus 1994): 22.9% for men (95% CI 18.3% to 27.6%) and 12.9% for women (95% CI 9.1% to 16.6%). The life expectancy ratio in 1983 between CVD survivors and the general population was 0.571 (95% CI 0.533 to 0.590) for men and 0.578 (95% CI 0.562 to 0.592) for women. In 1994, the corresponding ratios were 0.641 (95% CI 0.629 to 0.654) and 0.611 (95% CI 0.601 to 0.622). The life expectancy ratios between female and male survivors were 1.28 (95% CI 1.23 to 1.34) in 1983 and 1.18 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.21) in 1994. The prognosis for survivors who experienced occlusion and stenosis of the precerebral arteries was better than that for survivors of an intracerebral hemorrhage (P=4.4E-4) or occlusion of cerebral arteries (P=3.8E-8).

Conclusions—— Although the prognosis has improved for all ages, stroke survivors still constitute a large group of persons with a low life expectancy compared with the general population.

Key Words: data analysis, statistical • prognosis • registries • stroke outcome • survival

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. E. Mayo, L. Nadeau, S. S. Daskalopoulou, and R. Cote The evolution of stroke in Quebec: A 15-year perspective Neurology, April 3, 2007; 68(14): 1122 - 1127. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. S. Anderson, K. N. Carter, W. J. Brownlee, M. L. Hackett, J. B. Broad, and R. Bonita Very Long-Term Outcome After Stroke in Auckland, New Zealand Stroke, August 1, 2004; 35(8): 1920 - 1924. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Terent Trends in Stroke Incidence and 10-Year Survival in Soderhamn, Sweden, 1975-2001 Stroke, June 1, 2003; 34(6): 1353 - 1358. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]