Incidence of Greenlandic stroke-survivors in Greenland: A 2-year cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES To estimate age- and gender-specific incidence rates among Greenlandic stroke-survivors. STUDY DESIGN The study was performed as a cross-sectional observational study. METHODS All Greenlandic patients admitted to Queen Ingrid's Hospital (QIH) with stroke in 2011 and 2012 were included in the study. Data were obtained from patient files and the Central Civil Registration System. Age- and gender-specific incidence rates were estimated as cases/100,000 adults/year. Direct age-standardized incidence rate was calculated using the WHO 2000-2005 population as the standard. RESULTS In 2011 and 2012, 156 cases of stroke were registered, 72 (46.2%) males and 84 (53.8%) females. The overall incidence rate of stroke was 155/100,000 person-years (95% CI 121-190), with ischemic stroke accounting for 89.1% of these. No significant differences were seen between men and women. Direct age-standardized incidence rate was 149/year/100,000 (95% CI 192-264). Median age at time of diagnosis was 60 years (interquartile range 53-69). CONCLUSIONS This study reports an age-standardized all-stroke incidence rate of Greenlandic stroke-survivors in Greenland within the wide range as incidences in Western Europe. A noticeable difference when compared to Denmark was that male and female incidence were approximately the same, and that incidence rates were high in the younger age groups. The majority of strokes were of ischemic origin.