Prevalence of stroke in K'taka higher than national average

Karnataka had 109 new stroke patients for every 1,00,000 of its population in 2019, higher than the national average of 93, according to the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative. This was published in The Lancet Global Health on Wednesday.

Stroke is the leading contributor to neurological disease burden in the state much like the rest of the country. Head of the Initiative, Lalit Dandona, told DH controlling risk factors like alcohol use, smoking, high body mass index, cholesterol and low physical activity can go a long way in reducing the risk for stroke.

This data has been sourced and collated from cases reported in various scientific articles and journals. India has a National Stroke Registry Programme with population-based registries and hospital-based registries but the state-wise prevalence data in absolute numbers is not publicly available year-wise.

Read | Stroke killed 7 lakh Indians in 2019: Study

India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative Director Lalit Dandona, said, “Karnataka is one of a group of states with relatively higher non-communicable neurological disorders. Across India, stroke is responsible for 38 per cent of the disease burden due to neurological disorders. 68 per cent of deaths caused due to neurological disorders is on account of stroke. It is the third leading cause of deaths in India in 2019, seven lakh to be precise.”

Dandona, who is also a scientist and National Chair of Population Health, Indian Council of Medical Research, said, “Stroke has a long list of risk factors. It is the only neurological disorder for which there is good evidence of why stroke happens. High blood pressure, and air pollution, are some of them.

“About 55 per cent of strokes can be avoided if there is no high blood pressure and 42 per cent of stroke can be avoided if there is no air pollution. At least the morbidity due to stroke can be avoided if not stroke in the absence of these risk factors.”

Lifestyle choices and more exercise can make people less prone to stroke. “Neurological services need to be improved to cope with this increased disease burden,” he said.

Dr Pramod Kumar Pal, Professor of Neurology, Nimhans, who is also one of the authors of this neurological disease burden analysis, said, “Karnataka ranks ninth among 31 states/Union Territories in the country in incidence of stroke. It is a little worrisome that the prevalence of stroke in the state is higher than the national average. It may also be due to better reporting in our state compared to others.”