Prospective observational study of young adult ischemic stroke patients

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic stroke (IS) in young patients may differ in etiology and prognosis from later‐life IS, which is much more common. A number of single‐center and population‐based cohorts of affected individuals have been published, but information on the long‐term prognosis of these patients is limited. METHODS: IS patients (≤55 years), discharged over a 10‐year period, were evaluated and prospectively followed. Subgroups were evaluated for type of stroke, antecedent risk factors (RF), long‐term outcomes, and occupational status over several years of follow‐up. RESULTS: 178 IS individuals from 2001–2010 were divided into older (46–55, n = 118) and younger (18–45, n = 60) age groups. Traditional RF—hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia—were significantly associated with IS, and increased with age. The distribution and type of IS were similar in both groups, except for an increase in small vessel IS among the older subgroup (p = .003). Of the evaluable patients at 5.1 ± 2.5 years of follow‐up (n = 138), a similar proportion of patients in both subgroups had a recurrent IS, but no significant differences were found in most disability indices. Approximately one third of patients suffered from moderate to severe disability, and were unable to return to their prior work. CONCLUSIONS: Younger and older IS patients are generally predisposed from the same traditional RF which progress with age. Long‐term disabilities tend to worsen over time due to recurrent vascular events. These data emphasize the need for a strategy for early identification of the already well‐known stroke RF in younger stroke patients.