Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Monday, October 3, 2022

Global stroke statistics 2022

NOTHING ON RECOVERY!  Obviously they don't give a flying fuck about stroke survivors. 

 Since you didn't measure 100% recovery I guess that recovery is not important to you. Maybe you want to talk to survivors sometime, they'll give you an earful.

Measure recovery and results, NOT cases of stroke. I'd fire everyone involved in this.

“What's measured, improves.” So said management legend and author Peter F. Drucker 

The latest crapola here:

Global stroke statistics 2022

Abstract

Background:

Contemporary data on stroke epidemiology and the availability of national stroke clinical registries are important for providing evidence to improve practice and support policy decisions.

Aims:

To update the most current incidence, case-fatality, and mortality rates on stroke and identify national stroke clinical registries worldwide.

Methods:

We searched multiple databases (based on our existing search strategy) to identify new original papers, published between 1 November 2018 and 15 December 2021, that met ideal criteria for data on stroke incidence and case-fatality, and added these to the studies reported in our last review. To identify national stroke clinical registries, we updated our last search, using PubMed, from 6 February 2015 until 6 January 2022. We also screened reference lists of review papers, citation history of papers, and the gray literature. Mortality codes for International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 were extracted from the World Health Organization (WHO) for each country providing these data. Population denominators were obtained from the United Nations (UN) or WHO (when data were unavailable in the UN database). Crude and adjusted stroke mortality rates were calculated using country-specific population denominators, and the most recent years of mortality data available for each country.

Results:

Since our last report in 2020, there were two countries (Chile and France) with new incidence studies meeting criteria for ideal population-based studies. New data on case-fatality were found for Chile and Kenya. The most current mortality data were available for the year 2014 (1 country), 2015 (2 countries), 2016 (11 countries), 2017 (10 countries), 2018 (19 countries), 2019 (36 countries), and 2020 (29 countries). Four countries (Libya, Solomon Islands, United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon) reported mortality data for the first time. Since our last report on registries in 2017, we identified seven more national stroke clinical registries, predominantly in high-income countries. These newly identified registries yielded limited information.

Conclusions:

Up-to-date data on stroke incidence, case-fatality, and mortality continue to provide evidence of disparities and the scale of burden in low- and middle-income countries. Although more national stroke clinical registries were identified, information from these newly identified registries was limited. Highlighting data scarcity or even where a country is ranked might help facilitate more research or greater policy attention in this field.

Introduction

The worldwide burden of stroke remains massive, and there is a continued need to understand trends of the disease and its impact on each country, to guide policy decisions and healthcare planning. We have previously reported stroke statistics by country.13 We have also previously recognized the value of national stroke clinical registries, not just for routine monitoring of patient characteristics, access to clinical care, and health outcomes, but also their potential to be a reliable supplement or substitute for epidemiological studies in countries where a large proportion of the population is hospitalized.3,4 This fourth issue is part of an ongoing series to update information on (1) stroke incidence, case-fatality and mortality, and availability of national stroke clinical registries around the world; and (2) highlight where data are lacking or outdated.

Aims

Our aims were to (1) update our repository of the most recent country-specific data on stroke; (2) determine where stroke incidence, case-fatality, and mortality are new, old, or missing; and (3) determine any newly identified national stroke clinical registries.

Methods

We used similar methods to those described in our previous reviews to update stroke incidence, case-fatality, mortality, and national stroke clinical registries.13 These methods are described below. A summary of all data sources is provided in Supplementary Table 1.

Literature search and data extraction for stroke incidence and case-fatality

For stroke incidence and case-fatality, we searched Medline, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar to identify relevant original manuscripts and reviews for articles between 1 November 2018 and 15 December 2021. We included studies with data on overall stroke incidence, incidence among men and women separately, or 28- or 30-day case-fatality. Consistent with our previous reviews, citations identified were first screened by title and abstract (T.T.). After this, full texts were read by a single reviewer (T.T.). We included only original manuscripts meeting the ideal criteria (Supplementary Table 2).5 We also screened the reference lists of included manuscripts and relevant review articles, and discussed identification of any potentially missing original manuscripts that could have data on stroke incidence or case-fatality and would meet the inclusion criteria. For the heat maps on incidence, when there were data from the same country from rural and urban regions, we present the mean value of these observations for the country. Information from each manuscript was extracted by one reviewer (T.T.). All authors discussed the list of identified manuscripts.

Data extraction for stroke mortality

All mortality data were obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) website (https://www.who.int/data/data-collection-tools/who-mortality-database). These data are provided to the WHO by each country, having arisen from in-country civil registration systems and coded by their national authorities. We used the latest available data files on country codes and mortality from the WHO, these being updated on 15 March 2022 and downloaded on 27 May 2022. We used mortality coded using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) versions 9 and 10 (ICD-9 and ICD-10; Supplementary Table 3).
Population data (i.e. denominators) for the year corresponding to the latest mortality data were used to calculate mortality rates. In contrast to previous reviews,13 population data were obtained largely from the United Nations (UN) database.6 UN population data were preferred to the WHO population data because of the lack of up-to-date corresponding population data in the WHO database. When population data for the corresponding mortality year were unavailable in the UN database, population data from the WHO were substituted. For countries in which mortality data were reported to the WHO by specific subdivisions of the country, for example, China rural and urban areas, we used the WHO population data for the corresponding subdivision and mortality year.

Literature search and data extraction for national stroke clinical registries

For the identification of national stroke clinical registries around the world, we undertook a comprehensive search of the peer-reviewed literature in PubMed. Registries that were considered to represent a national standardized dataset for acute stroke care and outcomes in their country were included. Our search was limited to information available in English language. We leveraged results of the previous literature search4 and undertook an updated search from 6 February 2015 to 6 January 2022. A detailed description of methods is provided in online supplementary methods.

Analysis of data

We compared stroke incidence with the proportion of the population aged ⩾65 years, as previously.1 For each country, we used the UN population data to determine the proportion aged ⩾65 years from the same year as the incidence data. When incidence was assessed over more than 1 year, we used the population data corresponding to the mid-year of data collection. When an incidence study spanned an even number of years, the more recent of the 2 mid-years were used. However, when there were no population data for the year in which the incidence study was conducted, we used the closest available year, up to 2 years. A regression analysis was undertaken to determine the association between the proportion of the population aged ⩾65 years and the overall crude incidence, and a p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. We provide a new analysis comparing case-fatality (death within 28–30 days post-stroke) by the proportion of the population aged ⩾65 years, using a similar approach to analyses of incidence.
For stroke mortality, we calculated overall and sex-specific rates (100,000 population/year), using previously described methods.13 Crude mortality rates were also compared by the proportion of the population aged ⩾65 years, using a similar approach to analyses of incidence and case-fatality.
Death rates were age-standardized to the “new world” population,7 using the direct method and 5- or 10-year age bands, depending on how population data were reported by country. Countries varied in their report of upper age bands for mortality, ranging from ⩾65 years to ⩾95 years. In each instance, we adjusted for age using the maximum number of categories available for each country. A few countries (South Africa, Tunisia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Saint Lucia) reported mortality data for unknown sex. In such instances, we allocated cases proportionally to male or female, depending on the distribution of deaths in each sex and age categories. Age-adjusted death rates were used to compare mortality between countries/regions and to estimate percentage change in death rate/year between current and last reviews. To ensure reliable comparison of rates between the current and last review, population denominators corresponding to the years under review were obtained from the same source. Furthermore, analysis of change in death rates was stratified by population size (based on a population of less than vs at least 5 million), as change estimates may not be robust when based on small population denominators.
Consistent with our previous reviews,13 a regression analysis was undertaken to assess the association between the crude incidence rate and the corresponding crude mortality rate for each country, using the same year for incidence and mortality. When the study was conducted over more than 1 year, we used the most relevant population data, as described above for analyses of incidence and case-fatality. Data on national stroke clinical registries were summarized using descriptive statistics.

Results

Overall, since our last review, updated incidence data that fully or partially met the inclusion criteria were identified. New case-fatality data were also found. We were able to source new mortality data for several countries and for more recent time periods (as described below). Several national stroke clinical registries were also newly identified.

New literature on stroke incidence

The initial literature search returned 330 manuscripts (Figure 1 and Supplementary Tables 4–7). After the first stage of screening, we included 58 potential new manuscripts on stroke incidence for full text review. Since our last review,1 two new studies that fully met the inclusion criteria were identified (France and Chile), and new incidence data that partially met the inclusion criteria were available for one country (China). Figure 2 is the heat map showing adjusted incidence rates of stroke worldwide. Countries having old, new, and no data for overall stroke incidence and sex-specific incidence are illustrated (Supplementary Figures 1 and 2). In Chile, the overall crude stroke incidence rate in Ñuble (2015–2016) was 180/100,000/year, being greater for men (186/100,000/year) than women (175/100,000/year) (Supplementary Tables 4 and 5). The overall adjusted incidence rate for Chile (Ñuble) was 122/100,000/year. These figures are considerably larger than those obtained in Iquique in 2000–2002 (crude incidence 74/100,000/year and adjusted incidence 86/100,000/year). In an updated study conducted in 2002–2012 in Dijon, France, the overall adjusted incidence was 116/100,000/year, 126/100,000/year in men and 78/100,000/year in women. These figures were slightly greater than age-adjusted rates from 2000 to 2006 in the same region.
Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart showing screening and selection process for incidence and case-fatality data.
Figure 2. Heat map showing incidence of stroke adjusted to world population by quartiles.
The study from Tianjin, China, only partially met the inclusion criteria (i.e. conducted among people aged ⩾65 years), and therefore, we could not reliably compare incidence estimates to those of other countries. Nevertheless, the sex-specific age-adjusted incidence among those aged ⩾65 years was greater in men (2875/100,000/year) than women (1839/100,000/year; Supplementary Tables 6 and 7).
Consistent with our previous report, there was a strong linear relationship between crude incidence rates and the percentage of the population aged ⩾65 years in both low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs; Figure 3(a)). In regression analyses undertaken between crude incidence rate and the study year, there was a negative relationship in HICs, but a strong positive relationship for LMICs (Figure 3(b)). Updated data on age-adjusted stroke incidence are primarily from HICs and continue to be less than age-adjusted rates observed in LMICs (Supplementary Figure 3(a)–(c)).
Figure 3. Crude incidence from stroke according to (a) proportion of population aged ⩾65 years (overall, Y = 9.597 × X + 75.50, p < 0.001; LMICs, Y = 11.87 × X + 55.21, p < 0.001; HICs, Y = 5.096 × X + 144.9, p = 0.163) and (b) midyear that the study was conducted (overall, Y = 0.2709 × X − 355.5, p = 0.794; LMICs, = 3.031 × X − 5915, p = 0.010; HICs, Y = −3.135 × X + 6485, p = 0.027). These are for all countries reporting crude incidence and for which population estimates were reported to the United Nations.

New literature on stroke case-fatality

Our literature search returned 329 manuscripts (Figure 1). Only two new manuscripts with case-fatality data met our inclusion criteria (Supplementary Tables 8 and 9). In Kenya (Nairobi), the overall case-fatality at 28 days was 26.7%,8 while that reported at 30 days in Chile (Ñuble) was 24.6%.9 There continues to be a significant variation in stroke case-fatality both between and among LMICs and HICs (Figure 4), with case-fatality being greater in men than women in some countries, and greater in women than men in other countries (Figure 5). In a new analysis, we identified that people aged ⩾65 years had reduced case-fatality rates, although this association was not significant when stratified into LMICs and HICs (Figure 6(a)). No significant association was found between stroke case-fatality and the year the studies were undertaken (Figure 6(b)).
Figure 4. Overall 28- and 30-day case-fatality of stroke.
Figure 5. Comparison of gender-specific 28- and 30-day case-fatality of stroke in (a) men and (b) women.
Figure 6. Overall case-fatality at 28 and 30 days from stroke according to (a) proportion of population aged ⩾65 years (overall, Y = −0.4433 × X + 29.14, p = 0.047; LMICs, Y = 0.1441 × X + 27.36, p = 0.720; HICs, Y = −0.5327 × X + 29.90, p = 0.214) and (b) midyear that study was conducted (overall, Y = −0.04176 × X + 107.0, p = 0.747; LMICs, Y = 0.09945 × X − 173.0, p = 0.667; HICs, Y = −0.2381 × X + 497.7, p = 0.119). These are for all countries reporting case-fatality and for which population estimates were reported to the United Nations.

Updated mortality statistics from around the world

Mortality data are reported for 138 countries (Supplementary Tables 10 and 11). Since our last review, where the most recent data available were for 2017, there are now 108 countries for which new data are available, including four countries (Libya, Solomon Islands, United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon) for which mortality data were available for the first time. There are updated data for 2014 (Sri Lanka), 2015 (Bahamas, Saint Lucia), 2016 (11 countries), 2017 (10 countries), 2018 (19 countries), 2019 (36 countries), and 2020 (29 countries). There are 30 countries for which there were no new data available, with the oldest data (1983) being from the Falkland Islands (Malvinas; Figure 7). There were 11 countries which reported mortality data using a broad category of “cerebrovascular disease,” including conditions other than stroke (Supplementary Table 11).
Figure 7. Crude mortality (per 100,000 population) from stroke in most recent year reported to the World Health Organization, ordered according to average mortality for men and women. Blue bars: new mortality estimates; black bars: old mortality estimates. Note that mortality data for China are for selected regions only and represent <10% of all deaths in the country.
For estimating mortality rates, we used population data (denominators) obtained from the UN database for 129 countries and population data from the WHO database for 9 countries (Supplementary Table 10). This was in contrast to the last review,1 in which WHO population denominators were used for 123 countries and UN population denominators for 15 countries. Moreover, in contrast to the last review,1 Pakistan was excluded in the current analysis due to lack of corresponding population data. While crude mortality estimates were largely unaffected by the change in population data (i.e. from WHO data in the 2019 review to the UN data in the current review), there were considerable changes in age-adjusted mortality estimates (by ⩾5/100,000/year) for some countries (Supplementary Table 12).
Countries with the largest crude mortality rates were mostly from Eastern or South-Eastern Europe (Figure 7). Excluding the Falkland Islands which had old data (1983), the top 14 countries with the largest crude mortality rates were from these European regions, all of which had fairly recent data (2018–2020). Similar to our last review,1 Bulgaria (294 deaths/100,000/year; 2019) and Latvia (271/100,000/year; 2020) have the greatest crude stroke mortality rates (Supplementary Table 11). Georgia moved seven places up to the third position (254/100,000/year; 2020), overtaking Romania which now sits fifth on the list (199/100,000/year; 2019). By contrast, there was a considerable decline for Serbia from 2015 to 2020, dropping 11 places to sit in the 19th position (Figure 7). In contrast, with the exception of Solomon Islands (2018), countries with newer data at the lowest end of the spectrum (<15/100,000/year) were from the Middle-Eastern region, including the United Arab Emirates (2020), Qatar (2020), Oman (2019), and Morocco (2016). Papua New Guinea and Haiti had the smallest mortality rates, but data were more than 17 years old.
There was a significant association between the proportion of the population aged ⩾65 years and crude mortality rate (slope = 4.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.84–5.26; p < 0.001; Figure 8). However, this relationship was steeper in LMICs (slope = 8.90; 95% CI = 6.81–10.99; p < 0.001) than in HICs (slope = 3.95, 95% CI = 2.50–5.40; p < 0.001). Andorra (2020), Iceland (2020), Canada (2019), Australia (2020), and Puerto Rico (2017) had very low crude mortality rates (<40/100,000/year), despite having ⩾15% of their populations aged ⩾65 years. Countries with the greatest mortality rates (⩾100/100,000/year), despite having <15% of the population aged ⩾65 years, included the Republic of North Macedonia (2020), Belarus (2018), the Republic of Moldova (2018), China (all three subdivisions; 2000), and Azerbaijan (2007). There was no significant linear relationship between the year mortality data were collected and crude mortality rates for LMICs or HICs (data not provided).
Figure 8. Crude mortality from stroke according to proportion of population aged at least 65 years (overall: Y = 4.049 × X + 14.88, p < 0.001; LMICs: Y = 8.899 × X − 10.84, p < 0.0001; HICs: Y = 3.948 × X − 1.610, p < 0.0001). These are for all countries reporting mortality to the World Health Organization and for most recent year reported for each country. If there were no population denominators for the country within 2 years of mortality data reported to the United Nations, the population data from the World Health Organization were used.
When adjusting mortality rates to the new world population (Figures 9 and 10), countries with new data available and adjusted mortality rates of stroke ⩾100/100,000/year included Bulgaria (2019) and Kyrgyzstan (2019), TFYR Macedonia (2020), Republic of Moldova (2018), and Russian Federation (2019). Overall, 78/108 (72%) countries with new data had a reduced adjusted mortality rate since our last review.1
Figure 9. Age-adjusted mortality (per 100,000 population) from stroke in most recent year reported to the World Health Organization, ordered according to average mortality for men and women. Population estimates reported to the United Nations were used. Blue bars: new mortality estimates; black bars: old mortality estimates. Note that mortality data for China are for selected regions only and represent <10% of all deaths in the country.
Figure 10. Heat map showing mortality (per 100,000 population) from stroke adjusted to the world population, by quintiles.
The largest changes in death rates were observed in small countries, that is, with <500,000 population (Supplementary Table 13). These included a decline in rate by ⩾10%/year for Antigua and Barbuda (2016–2017), Seychelles (2015–2019), and Malta (2015–2017) and an increase by ⩾20%/year for Virgin Islands (USA; 2016–2017), Martinique (2015–2016), Reunion (2015–2016), Saint Vincent and Grenadines (2016–2017), and Guadeloupe (2015–2016). Among countries with ⩾5 million population (Supplementary Table 14), Egypt (2015–2019), Morocco (2014–2016), Brazil (2016–2019), Dominican Republic (2013–2018), Turkey (2019), and Republic of Korea (2016–2019) led the group, with declines in adjusted death rates by ⩾6.5%/year. In contrast, Tajikistan (2016–2017), Peru (2015–2018), Iran (Islamic Republic; 2015–2016), and Venezuela (2013–2016) were countries with ⩾5 million population and large increase in adjusted rates, by ⩾5%/year.
There were 65 incidence studies from 37 countries in which overall incidence and corresponding mortality data were available. There was a strong positive relationship between incidence and mortality rates from stroke (slope = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.46–1.19; p < 0.001), and this association was similar for HICs and LMICs (Figure 11).
Figure 11. Regression of crude mortality from stroke versus incidence. These are for all countries reporting mortality to the World Health Organization, and have assessed incidence of stroke for a similar year (Y = 0.8219 × X + 125.1, p < 0.001; LMICs: Y = 0.8891 × X + 93.72, p = 0.0012; HICs: Y = 0.7971 × X + 140.5, p = 0.015). Population estimates reported to the United Nations were used.

Update on national stroke clinical registries

The initial search returned 2659 manuscripts. After removing duplicates, 2656 studies were screened for inclusion, of which 362 publications met the eligibility criteria (Supplementary Figure 4). Most (93%) of the 362 publications related to national stroke clinical registries were for updated data and/or analyses of data from the 28 national stroke clinical registries that were previously identified. From 25 publications, there were seven national stroke clinical registries, predominantly from HICs, that were newly identified. There was limited information from the newly identified national stroke clinical registries. Moreover, no case report forms were published, and relevant information was lacking in associated websites and other references (Supplementary Tables 15 and 16, Supplementary Figures 1 and 4).

Discussion

In this comprehensive updated review of global stroke statistics, we present the most recently available country-specific stroke incidence, case-fatality, mortality data, and newly identified national stroke clinical registries. For the first time, we determined the relationship of crude case-fatality with the percentage of the population aged ⩾65 years and the year the studies were conducted.
Compared with our last review,1 updated incidence data were only available in two countries, Chile and France, both HICs. The scarcity of data on stroke incidence in other countries seems to be consistent with previous findings.1,3 A shift in the burden of stroke from HICs to LMICs was previously highlighted.1 In this review, we observed that crude incidence continues to decrease over time in HICs and increase over time in LMICs, which is a cause for concern. In addition, there continues to be an overall variation in estimates of stroke incidence across different regions of the world. High-quality data are needed to understand stroke burden, and to help plan and develop country-level strategies to improve stroke care.10 The need for well-designed, community-based stroke surveillance studies meeting the ideal criteria is equally important in HICs and LMICs.
Data on estimated overall crude case-fatality rates were available for 23 countries. Of interest is that case-fatality seems to be increasing in LMICs, compared with HICs, highlighting the urgency to improve stroke care in LMICs. Overall, there continues to be variation in case-fatality across different regions. Recommendations to provide crude and age-adjusted case-fatality estimates for different age and sex categories would ensure a better understanding of trends in stroke-specific deaths.
In contrast to our last review,1 we identified more recent mortality data for several countries. However, countries with the greatest crude mortality rates remain largely unchanged. Similarly, countries with the largest age-adjusted mortality rates remain unchanged, mainly because no new data were available for many countries. There were considerable declines in age-adjusted mortality rates over time for several countries, notably Egypt, Serbia, Morocco, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Turkey, and Republic of Korea. In contrast, substantial increases in age-adjusted rates were observed for Tajikistan, Peru, Iran, and Venezuela. We observed a geographical pattern in crude mortality rates at both ends of the spectrum. While countries with the highest crude mortality rates were largely from Eastern or South-eastern Europe, those with the lowest rates were largely from the Middle-Eastern region. For countries with reduced mortality rates, such as Haiti and Papua New Guinea, estimates may be partly explained by the fact that data are old, so do not reflect any recent changes that may have occurred. Compared with our last review,1 the association between the proportion of the population aged ⩾65 years and crude mortality rate slightly decreased, and this association remained stronger in LMICs than HICs.
Countries with the greatest mortality rates are largely unchanged, suggesting a need for more effective policy actions for primary and secondary prevention in these countries. The decline or stability in crude mortality rates over time for most countries, particularly in middle- and high-income countries, is likely to be attributed to declines in stroke incidence11 and improved strategies for the management of stroke (e.g. acute stroke units, better identification of milder strokes). We also observed greater crude mortality rates among countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, despite having relatively younger population. This finding may be partly explained by the relatively low national income/person, when compared with other countries in which mortality data were available.12 In contrast, the relatively low crude mortality rates in the more developed/advanced countries in the Middle-eastern region, compared with other developed/advanced countries, may be due to a combination of structural factors that enhance primary and secondary prevention.13 These may include factors, such as improved socioeconomic conditions and quality of care, advocacies and favorable changes in policies and legislations, and healthy and safer environment, which may reduce the incidence of stroke or any associated death.10
Some countries with considerable mortality rates, for example, the Russian Federation, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Ukraine, and China, used a broad category of “cerebrovascular disease,” including conditions other than stroke. Therefore, these rates may be overestimated. Such countries should be encouraged to report mortality using stroke-specific codes to enable better comparability between countries. We observed substantial discrepancies between population data obtained from the UN and that from the WHO, for a few countries that were analyzed using the same mortality data, but had population denominators from different sources. Notably, South Africa, Azerbaijan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and small Caribbean and African countries had different population denominator data. The effect of these discrepancies on adjusted mortality estimates highlights the need for countries to report high-quality and more complete data, regardless of database, to reliably inform relevant domestic and global policy decisions and actions.
National stroke clinical registries are becoming more common with seven newly identified registries since the last systematic search. However, most were from HICs, with five being from Europe. Although more national stroke clinical registries were identified, information from these newly identified registries was limited. Importantly, national stroke clinical registries were located largely in countries with either no studies on incidence or with no new studies on stroke incidence, thereby expanding the number of countries with some type of up-to-date stroke data.
There may be several reasons why there is underrepresentation of national stroke clinical registries in certain regions. First, monitoring the quality of stroke care provided in hospitals may not be a priority in some countries if they do not have the resources or access to a system for data collection. Second, there may be a preference to conduct resource-intensive community-based stroke incidence studies within a geographical region to capture events in and out of hospitals to quantify the burden of stroke. Third, our criteria to consider a stroke registry to be “national,” while flexible, was not intended to capture regional registries within a country, even though some of these registries may have had better coverage than some considered to be “national.”
Finally, the Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) is gaining prominence as a global tool for continuous monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of healthcare quality.14 RES-Q comprises data on 83 countries (~500,000 patients, 1838 acute hospital sites), including LMICs, and is an example of an international resource supporting standardized collection of stroke data. Importantly, this tool reduces costs of establishing the infrastructure for national clinical quality registries. However, site- and national-level coverage is unclear.
The main strengths of this review include its comprehensiveness and the use of high-quality studies that met strict criteria. Our review is limited by the fact that stroke incidence and case-fatality data are often available only in certain regions of a country and may not be representative of the whole country. Because mortality rates have been declining over time, the rank position of a country may also be influenced by the availability of recent population data, differences in data collection policies for reporting deaths, and potential misclassification of causes of death.

Conclusion

Up-to-date information on stroke incidence, case-fatality, and mortality continues to provide evidence of disparities among countries and changing magnitudes of burden, particularly in LMICs. Although more national stroke clinical registries were identified, information from newly identified registries were limited. Knowing where important data are lacking, outdated, or even where a country is ranked might help facilitate more research or greater policy attention.

Acknowledgments

All mortality data and some population data were obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database, and the WHO is responsible only for the provision of the original information. Most population data were obtained from the United Nations (UN) database, and the UN is responsible only for the provision of the original information. The analyses and interpretations of the data are those of the authors alone.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors received Research Fellowship support from the National Health and Medical Research Council: D.A.C. (1154273) and A.G.T. (1042600).

ORCID iDs

Tharshanah Thayabaranathan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2504-7772

Footnote

Authors’ contributions
T.T., J.K., and M.T.O. contributed to the design, undertook literature search, data collection, data analyses and interpretation, wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and revised the manuscript. D.A.C., A.G.T., and G.A.D. contributed to the design, data interpretation, and revised the manuscript. G.H. contributed to the design, data analyses and interpretation, and revised the manuscript. V.J.H., P.M.R., V.F., B.N., M.O., and J.P. contributed to the design, interpreted the data, and revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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