Impact of sex in stroke in the young

Abstract

Background and purpose Limited data is available on sex differences in young stroke patients describing discrepant findings. This study aims to investigate the sex differences in young stroke patients. Methods Prospective cohort study comparing risk factors, etiology, stroke localization, severity on admission, management and outcome in patients aged 16-55 years with acute ischemic stroke consecutively included in the Bernese stroke database between 01/2015 to 12/2018 with subgroup analyses for very young (16-35y) and young patients (36-55y). Results 689 patients (39% female) were included. Stroke in women dominated in the very young (53.8%, p<0.001) and in men in the young (63.9%, p<0.001). As risk factors only sleep-disordered breathing was more predominant in men in the very young, whereas arterial hypertension, diabetes and atrial fibrillation did not differ in women and men older than 35y. The higher frequency of stroke in women in the very young may be explained by the sex specific risk factors such as pregnancy, puerperium, the use of oral contraceptives, and hormonal replacement therapy. Stroke severity at presentation, etiology, stroke localization, management, and outcome did not differ between women and men. Conclusions The main finding of this study is that sex specific risk factors in women may contribute to a large extent to the higher incidence of stroke in the very young in women. Important modifiable stroke risk factors, such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and atrial fibrillation did not differ in women and men, either in the young as well as in the very young. These findings have major implications for primary preventive strategies of stroke in young people.