Global Burden and Risk Factors of Stroke

Stroke remains among the leading causes of death and long-term disability worldwide, exacting a growing toll on individuals, health systems and economies. Absolute numbers of incident strokes, prevalent cases and stroke-related deaths have risen markedly over the past three decades, driven by population ageing, urbanisation and shifts in risk profiles even as age-standardised rates of incidence and mortality have declined in many high-income settings. However, these gains are unevenly distributed: low- and middle-income regions continue to shoulder the highest age-standardised stroke mortality and disability rates, and certain regions have seen a resurgence or stagnation in incidence. Stroke subtypes vary by geography and demographic group, with ischaemic stroke comprising around two-thirds of all new events, intracerebral haemorrhage close to one-third and subarachnoid haemorrhage a smaller proportion. A spectrum of modifiable risk factors underlies this burden, spanning metabolic factors such as hypertension, elevated body-mass index and hyperglycaemia; behavioural risks including smoking, poor diet and inactivity; and environmental exposures such as air pollution. Some risk factors, notably high blood pressure, remain the single largest contributor to stroke-attributable disability. Effective prevention demands accessible, affordable and evidence-based strategies for surveillance, primary prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation, tailored to local contexts and resource constraints.

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Global Burden and Risk Factors of Stroke publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in global burden and risk factors of stroke across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Disability-adjusted life-year (DALY): a summary measure combining years of life lost and years lived with disability.

Incidence: the rate of new cases in a population over a specified time interval.

Prevalence: the total number of existing cases in a population at a given time.

Ischaemic stroke: cerebral infarction resulting from obstruction of a blood vessel supplying the brain.

Intracerebral haemorrhage: bleeding into the brain parenchyma due to vessel rupture.

Modifiable risk factor: a characteristic or exposure that can be altered through behavioural or clinical intervention.

References

1. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Neurology (2024).
2. Primary stroke prevention worldwide: translating evidence into action. The Lancet Public Health (2021).
3. Trends in Incidence and Mortality of Stroke in China From 1990 to 2019. Frontiers in Neurology (2021).