The incidence of all stroke and stroke subtype in the United Kingdom, 1985 to 2008: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is considerable geographic variation in stroke mortality around the United Kingdom (UK). Whether this is due to geographical differences in incidence or case-fatality is unclear. We conducted a systematic review of high-quality studies documenting the incidence of any stroke and stroke subtypes, between 1985 and 2008 in the UK. We aimed to study geographic and temporal trends in relation to equivalent mortality trends.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched, reference lists inspected and authors of included papers were contacted. All rates were standardised to the European Standard Population for those over 45, and between 45 and 74 years. Stroke mortality rates for the included areas were then calculated to produce rate ratios of stroke mortality to incidence for each location.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Five papers were included in this review. Geographic variation was narrow but incidence appeared to largely mirror mortality rates for all stroke. For men over 45, incidence (and confidence intervals) per 100,000 ranged from 124 (109-141) in South London, to 185 (164-208) in Scotland. For men, premature (45-74 years) stroke incidence per 100,000 ranged from 79 (67-94) in the North West, to 112 (95-132) in Scotland. Stroke subtype data was more geographically restricted, but did suggest there is no sizeable variation in incidence by subtype around the country. Only one paper, based in South London, had data on temporal trends. This showed that there has been a decline in stroke incidence since the mid 1990 s. This could not be compared to any other locations in this review.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Geographic variations in stroke incidence appear to mirror variations in mortality rates. This suggests policies to reduce inequalities in stroke mortality should be directed at risk factor profiles rather than treatment after a first incident event. More high quality stroke incidence data from around the UK are needed before this can be confirmed.</p

Incidence of first primary central nervous system tumors in California, 2001–2005

We examined the incidence of first primary central nervous system tumors (PCNST) in California from 2001–2005. This study period represents the first five years of data collection of benign PCNST by the California Cancer Registry. California’s age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIR) for malignant and benign PCNST (5.5 and 8.5 per 100,000, respectively). Malignant PCNST were highest among non-Hispanic white males (7.8 per 100,000). Benign PCNST were highest among African American females (10.5 per 100,000). Hispanics, those with the lowest socioeconomic status, and those who lived in rural California were found to be significantly younger at diagnosis. Glioblastoma was the most frequent malignant histology, while meningioma had the highest incidence among benign histologies (2.6 and 4.5 per 100,000, respectively). This study is the first in the US to compare malignant to benign PCNST using a population-based data source. It illustrates the importance of PCNST surveillance in California and in diverse communities

Intracranial tumors in adult population of the Varaždin County (Croatia) 1996-2004: a population-based retrospective incidence study

Aim: To estimate the incidence of intracranial tumors in the adult population of the Varazdin County, Croatia, for the 1996-2004 period. - - - - - Methods: Setting: Varazdin County General Hospital and four university hospitals in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Study period: January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2004. Incident patients: county residents admitted for newly diagnosed intracranial tumors according to the WHO diagnostic criteria. Demographic data were extracted from the 2001 Croatian census. Incidence rates (IRs) per 100,000 person-years (p-y) and annual IRs (per 100,000 persons) were determined and compared as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% CI. - - - - - Results: For primary intracranial tumors (PITs), IR was 12.1/100,000 p-y (95% CI: 10.3-14.2), comparable in men and women. The highest incidence was recorded for glioblastoma (IR 4.8, 3.7-6.2) and meningioma (IR 3.1, 2.2-4.2). The incidence of PIT was somewhat greater than that of metastatic tumors (IRR 1.58, 95% CI: 1.22-2.05, P = 40 vs. population aged <= 39 (all IRRs with 95% CI greater than 1, P < 0.05 or < 0.001), comparable in men and women. Women were somewhat older than men at the time of diagnosis of PIT: median difference -6 years (95.1% CI: -10 to -1, P < 0.05). Annual IRs for all these tumor categories showed increasing trends over the study period. - - - - - Conclusion: Overall, there was an increasing trend in the incidence of primary intracranial tumors in the Varazdin County. Data did not allow estimation for most of the specific tumor types

Primary brain tumour epidemiology in Georgia: first-year results of a population-based study

A population-based cohort study was initiated in Georgia in March 2009 to collect epidemiologic data of malignant and non-malignant primary brain tumours. During the first year, 473 incident cases were identified. For a population of 4.3 million, the annual incidence rate was 10.25 per 100,000 inhabitants, age-standardized to the year 2000 US population. Non-malignant tumours constituted about 66 % of all tumours. Males accounted for 40 % and females for 60 % of the cases. Crude incidence rates by histology were highest for meningiomas (2.92/100,000), pituitary adenoma (1.16/100,000) and glioblastomas (0.64/100,000), which was in agreement with the frequency of reported histology: meningiomas--45.2 %, pituitary adenoma--18.0 % and glioblastomas--9.9 %. The age-standardized incidence rates were higher among females than males for all primary brain tumours (11.05 vs. 8.44/100,000) as well as for individual histologies except for glioblastoma and several other neuroepithelial tumours. Some differences compared with 2004-2005 Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States data may be explained by a higher percentage of unclassified tumours (37 %) in our study. We suggest further studies to clarify the nature of this discrepancy