Dementia in patients hospitalized with stroke: rates, time course, and clinico-pathologic factors

Onlinelibrary.wiley.com: JULY 11, 2012.
Stroke is a risk factor for dementia and dementia predisposes to stroke. Dementia prevalence in subjects with stroke is comparable with that seen in stroke-free subjects who are 10 years older. Although overall there is heterogeneity between studies of prestroke and poststroke dementia, stratifying by study method and clinical criteria (e.g. inclusion/exclusion of prestroke dementia, first ever vs. any vs. recurrent stroke) results in reasonably consistent estimates. Pooled dementia rates from studies of consecutive patients hospitalized with stroke indicate that around 10% have dementia prior to first stroke and 10% have new dementia in the first year after first-ever stroke with highest rates (over 30%) seen after recurrent stroke. After the immediate high-risk poststroke period, rates of new incident dementia are lower but remain elevated at around four times the background risk.  Read More