Great, Now We're Having Strokes Younger

If you’re twenty or older, “stroke” might soon mean more to you than just Julian Casablancas. According to a new study of 1.3 million Americans published in the American Academy of Neurology, the rate of strokes suffered among people ages 20 to 54 jumped over 5% from 1993 to 2005, specifically from 12.9 to 18.6%.

Researchers are attributing this to the increased rate of smoking, diabetes and hypertension among the young to midlife demographic. One in five victims is now below the age of 55, and the average age of a stroke sufferer has fallen from 71 to 69 years of age, which may not seem like much but is actually rather significant.

The study also notes an ethnic difference in stroke risk: “obesity and diabetes are on the rise in young adults and are more common in black patients and other race/ethnicity groups compared with white patients.” Among the 20 to 55-year-old black demographic, the rate went from 83 to 128 for every 100,000 stroke victims; for whites the incidence almost doubled from 26 to 48 in the same control figure.