The number of cases and deaths from stroke increased by 70% and 44% worldwide, respectively, according to a new study published in the renowned scientific journal The Lancet Neurology, this Wednesday (18). The global burden of stroke associated with high temperatures is one of the fastest growing in the last three decades, representing an increase of 72%, according to the analysis.
In total, 84% of the burden of the condition in 2021 is attributed to 23 modifiable risk factors, including, in addition to heat, air pollution, excess body weight, hypertension, smoking and physical inactivity. The work will be presented in October at the World Stroke Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
This is the first time an analysis has suggested that particulate air pollution is a major risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke, contributing to 14% of death and disability from the stroke subtype — a level similar to the risk associated with smoking.
Still according to the analysishealth deterioration due to stroke has increased by 32% worldwide. According to researchers, this increase is due to both population growth and the aging of the global population, in addition to greater exposure to environmental and behavioral risk factors.
The findings reinforce the need for effective, accessible and affordable stroke prevention measures, with an emphasis on controlling blood pressure, lifestyle and environmental factors.
“The global growth in the number of people who develop, die from, or are disabled by stroke is increasing rapidly, strongly suggesting that current prevention strategies are not sufficiently effective,” said lead author Valery L. Feigin, a professor at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and an affiliate professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the United States, in a press release.
“New population-based prevention strategies that are proven to be effective and motivational for the individual and that could be applied to all people at risk of stroke, regardless of risk level, as recommended by the recent Lancet Neurology Stroke Commission, must be urgently implemented worldwide,” he adds.
More than three-quarters of stroke victims live in low-income countries
According to the analysis, the number of people who had a stroke rose to 11.9 million in 2021, an increase of 70% since 1990. The number of survivors of the condition increased by 93.8 million (86%) in the last three decades, while the number of deaths related to stroke rose to 7.3 million (44%), making it the third leading cause of death in the world, behind only ischemic heart disease and Covid-19.
Furthermore, the study showed that more than three-quarters of those affected by stroke live in low- and middle-income countries. In the East and Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa regions, incidence, prevalence, death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rates were 2-10 times higher in 2021. In these regions, the proportion of hemorrhagic strokes is twice that of high-income countries.
In contrast, high-income regions of North America, Australasia (the region comprising Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and some smaller islands in eastern Indonesia) and middle-income Latin America had the lowest stroke burdens.
“Stroke-related health loss disproportionately impacts many of the most disadvantaged countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, due to the growing burden of uncontrolled risk factors, especially poorly controlled high blood pressure, and rising levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes in young adults, as well as the lack of stroke prevention and care services in these regions,” explained study co-author Catherine O. Johnson, chief research scientist at IHME.
In addition to heat, other factors related to the increase in strokes in the world
High temperatures were linked to a 72% increase in the global burden of stroke worldwide, but climate issues are not the only factors linked to the increase in cases and deaths from the condition.
According to the analysis, metabolic risk factors such as high body mass index (BMI), hypertension and high cholesterol contributed to the highest burden of stroke across all income levels of countries, ranging from a 66% to 70% increase in 2021.
Next are environmental risk factors such as air pollution, high or low ambient temperatures and lead exposure, representing an increase range of between 35% and 53% in low- and middle-income countries.
In contrast, the study found substantial progress in reducing the global burden of stroke from risk factors related to poor diet, with health loss due to diets high in processed meat and low in vegetables decreasing by 40% and 30%, respectively. Health loss related to particulate air pollution decreased by 20%, while smoking accounted for a 13% reduction.
This suggests that strategies to reduce exposure to these risk factors implemented over the past three decades, such as clean air zones and public smoking bans, have been successful. “With 84% of the stroke burden linked to 23 modifiable risk factors, there are enormous opportunities to change the trajectory of stroke risk for the next generation,” says Johnson.
“Given that ambient air pollution is interlinked with ambient temperature and climate change, the importance of urgent climate action and measures to reduce air pollution cannot be overstated. With increasing exposure to risk factors such as high blood sugar and diets high in sugar-sweetened beverages, there is a critical need for targeted interventions to address obesity and metabolic syndromes. Identifying sustainable ways to work with communities to take action to prevent and manage modifiable risk factors for stroke is essential to addressing this growing crisis.”
This content was originally published in Heat is linked to the increase in stroke cases in the world, says study on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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