Gender difference of geographic distribution of the stroke incidence affected by socioeconomic, clinical and urban-rural factors: an ecological study based on data from the Brest stroke registry in France

Self-Reported Reasons for Activity Limitations According to Age and Sex in Community-Dwelling Stroke Survivors

We examined self-reported reasons for activity limitations among Korean community-dwelling stroke survivors, focusing on age and sex differences. Data from 1547 stroke survivors who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analysed. The study outcomes were the self-reported reasons for activity limitations, encompassing general medical factors and stroke-related problems. These reasons were compared by age (<65 vs. ≥65 years) and sex using a complex-sample chi-square test. Stroke survivors reported different musculoskeletal, medical, and neurological problems as reasons for activity limitations, which differed by age and sex. Older stroke survivors reported more problems related to dementia, memory loss, auditory problems, back or neck problems, arthritis, or leg pain than younger survivors. Women reported more psychiatric problems, headaches or dizziness, back or neck problems, arthritis, gastrointestinal problems, and dental or oral problems than men. Older and female stroke survivors reported a higher mean number of reasons for activity limitations compared to younger and male survivors. Thus, a tailored approach considering age and sex is necessary to help stroke survivors with activity limitations in the Korean community. This study highlights the importance of considering demographic factors when designing interventions to improve their quality of life.

The impact of regional deprivation on stroke incidence, treatment, and mortality in Germany

BACKGROUND

Regional deprivation has been shown to be an influential factor in stroke incidence risk. However, there is a paucity of knowledge on regional differences in stroke incidence and mortality in Germany.

METHODS

We assessed data from the Diagnosis Related Groups statistics (2016-2019) and the German Federal Registry of Physicians (2019). Negative binomial regression analysis was used to examine the association between the German Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015 covering 401 districts and district-free cities in Germany and stroke incidence, treatment, and mortality.

RESULTS

The adjusted rate ratios of stroke incidence and mortality with the highest deprivation level compared with the least deprived area were 1.161 (95% CI [1.143, 1.179]) and 1.193 (95% CI [1.148, 1.239]), respectively. Moreover, this study revealed that physician density was higher in district-free cities compared to districts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that regional deprivation is associated with incident and mortality cases of stroke, necessitating a more targeted approach to stroke prevention in deprived regions.

A Review of Rehabilitation Benefits of Exercise Training Combined with Nutrition Supplement for Improving Protein Synthesis and Skeletal Muscle Strength in Patients with Cerebral Stroke

Cerebral vascular accident (CVA) is one of the main causes of chronic disability, and it affects the function of daily life, so it is increasingly important to actively rehabilitate patients' physical functions. The research confirmed that the nutrition supplement strategy is helpful to improve the effect of sports rehabilitation adaptation and sports performance. The patients with chronic strokes (whose strokes occur for more than 6 months) have special nutritional needs while actively carrying out rehabilitation exercises, but there are still few studies to discuss at present. Therefore, this paper will take exercise rehabilitation to promote muscle strength and improve muscle protein synthesis as the main axis and, through integrating existing scientific evidence, discuss the special needs of chronic stroke patients in rehabilitation exercise intervention and nutrition supplement one by one. At the same time, we further evaluated the physiological mechanism of nutrition intervention to promote training adaptation and compared the effects of various nutrition supplement strategies on stroke rehabilitation. Literature review pointed out that immediately supplementing protein nutrition (such as whey protein or soybean protein) after resistance exercise or endurance exercise can promote the efficiency of muscle protein synthesis and produce additive benefits, thereby improving the quality of muscle tissue. Recent animal research results show that probiotics can prevent the risk factors of neural function degradation and promote the benefits of sports rehabilitation. At the same time, natural polyphenols (such as catechin or resveratrol) or vitamins can also reduce the oxidative stress injury caused by animal stroke and promote the proliferation of neural tissue. In view of the fact that animal research results still make up the majority of issues related to the role of nutrition supplements in promoting nerve repair and protection, and the true benefits still need to be confirmed by subsequent human studies. This paper suggests that the future research direction should be the supplement of natural antioxidants, probiotics, compound nutritional supplements, and integrated human clinical research.

Spatial Distribution of Hospitalizations for Ischemic Heart Diseases in the Central Region of Asturias, Spain

Hospitalizations for ischemic heart disease have an uneven distribution throughout Spain, in which Asturias is the community with the highest rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and angina pectoris (AP). Cardiovascular diseases are related to environmental, socioeconomic and previous medical conditions, which result in geographical differences in the incidence of hospital admissions and mortality. The goal of this study was to describe the spatial distribution of hospital admissions in the central area of Asturias and explore the existence of spatial patterns or clusters. Urgent hospital admissions for AMI and angina AP in the hospitals of the central area of Asturias were registered, geocoded and grouped by census tracts. Standardized admission ratio, smoothed relative risk, posterior risk probability and analysis of spatial clusters between relative risks throughout the study area were calculated and mapped. Geographical differences were found in the distribution of hospital admissions for AMI and AP across the area and between men and women. The cluster analysis indicated contiguous census tracts with high relative risk values in the northwest region of the study area and low relative risk in the east, particularly for men. The geographical analysis shows the existence of patterns and spatial clusters in the incidence of AMI and AP, for both men and women, in the central area of Asturias.