12-Month prevalence of stroke or chronic consequences of stroke in Germany

Abstract

Stroke is the second most common cause of death globally and an important cause of disability in adults. According to the GEDA 2014/2015-EHIS study, 1.6% of adults (1.7% of women and 1.5% of men) in Germany had a stroke or chronic consequences of stroke during the past 12 months. For those aged under 55 years, the 12-month prevalence of these health problems remains well below 1% for both sexes, but then increases steeply and disproportionately to 6.3% for those aged 75 years and over. Prevalence among women with a low level of education (3.6%) is higher than among women with a high level of education (0.6%). Education has only a weak effect on prevalence among men. The indicator analysed here (12-month prevalence of stroke or chronic consequences of stroke) was developed for the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) 2014/2015, which means that comparative data for Germany is not yet available.