Epidemiology and disease burden of ischemic stroke in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: The incidence and prevalence of ischemic stroke (IS) are increasing in Asian countries. We conducted this retrospective database research to investigate epidemiology and disease burden of IS in Taiwan.

METHODS: We identified cases from the National Health Insurance Research Database during period from 2000 to 2005 to calculate prevalence and mortality. We analyzed the relationship between disease burden and gender in Taiwan during the period from 2000 to 2005 using Dismod II.

RESULTS: From study period, stroke mortality increased from 50 to 2300 per 100 000 among individuals aged 50-90 years, with a higher prevalence among females than males. The highest prevalence was observed among men aged 80-84 years, but prevalence among women was highest in patients aged >85 years. The burden of stroke during the period per 1000 population was estimated as follows: the sum of the years of life lost as a result of premature mortality of 55-80 years, years lost as a result of disability of 11-19 years, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of 70-80 years. Most of the DALYs of stroke occurred among those aged 65-69 years. The DALY value was higher among women than among men before 2005; there was no clear trend in 2005.

CONCLUSIONS: Stroke is a significant health concern in Taiwan. The associated disease burden was found to increase each year, especially among individuals aged 65-69 years. Overall, the DALY value increased from 2000 to 2005, which suggests that the associated disease burden will continue to increase over time.