Supplementary Material for: Age and sex disparities in cardiovascular risk factor management prior to stroke: Linked registry and general practice data

Introduction: There is limited evidence about the management of cardiovascular risk factors within 12 months before stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) in Australian general practices. We evaluated whether age and sex disparities in cardiovascular risk factor management for primary prevention exist in general practice. Methods: A retrospective cohort study using data from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (2014-2018) linked with general practice data from three primary health networks in Victoria, Australia. We included adults who had ≥2 encounters with a general practitioner within 12 months immediately before the first stroke/TIA. Cardiovascular risk factor management within 12 months before stroke/TIA was evaluated in terms of: assessment of risk factors (blood pressure [BP], serum lipids, blood glucose, body weight); prescription of prevention medications (BP, lipid-, glucose-lowering, antithrombotic agents); and attainment of risk factor targets. Results: Of 2,880 patients included (median age 76.5 years, 48.4% women), 80.9% were assessed for BP, 49.9% serum lipids, 46.8% blood glucose, and 39.3% body weight. Compared to patients aged 65-84 years, those aged <65 or ≥85 years were less often assessed for risk factors, with women aged ≥85 years assessed for significantly fewer risk factors than their male counterparts. The most prescribed prevention medications were BP-lowering (64.9%) and lipid-lowering agents (42.0%). There were significant sex differences among those aged <65 years (34.7% women vs. 40.2% men) and ≥85 years (34.0% women vs. 44.3% men) for lipid-lowering agents. Risk factor target attainment was generally poorer in men than women, especially among those aged <65 years. Conclusion: Age-sex disparity exists in risk factor management for primary prevention in general practice, and this was more pronounced among younger patients and older women

Supplementary Material for: Treatment and Outcomes of Working Aged Adults with Stroke: Results from a National Prospective Registry

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Given the potential differences in etiology and impact, the treatment and outcome of younger patients (aged 18–64 years) require examination separately to older adults (aged ≥65 years) who experience acute stroke. <b><i>Methods:</i></b><i></i> Data from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (2010–2015) including demographic and clinical characteristics, provision of evidence-based therapies and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) post-stroke was used. Descriptive statistics and multilevel regression models were used for group comparisons. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Compared to older patients (age ≥65 years) among 26,220 registrants, 6,526 (25%) younger patients (age 18–64 years) were more often male (63 vs. 51%; <i>p</i> < 0.001), born in Australia (70 vs. 63%; <i>p</i> < 0.001), more often discharged home from acute care (56 vs. 38%; <i>p</i> < 0.001), and less likely to receive antihypertensive medication (61 vs. 73%; <i>p</i> < 0.001). Younger patients had a 74% greater odds of having lower HRQoL compared to an equivalent aged-matched general population (adjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.56–1.93, <i>p</i> < 0.001). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b><i></i> Younger stroke patients exhibited distinct differences from their older counterparts with respect to demographic and clinical characteristics, prescription of antihypertensive medications and residual health status