Stroke related mortality at different altitudes: A 17-year nationwide population-based analysis from Ecuador
Worldwide, more than 5.7% of the population reside above 1,500m of elevation. It has been hypothesized that acute short-term hypoxia exposure could increase the risk of developing a stroke. Studies assessing the effect of altitude on stroke have provided conflicting results, some analyses suggest th...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/184771 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/184771 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Mortalitat Angiogènesi Influència de l'altitud Equador Mortality Neovascularization Influence of altitude Ecuador |
| Sumario: | Worldwide, more than 5.7% of the population reside above 1,500m of elevation. It has been hypothesized that acute short-term hypoxia exposure could increase the risk of developing a stroke. Studies assessing the effect of altitude on stroke have provided conflicting results, some analyses suggest that long-term chronic exposure could be associated with reduced mortality and lower stroke incidence rates. An ecological analysis of all stroke hospital admissions, mortality rates and disability-adjusted life years in Ecuador was performed from 2001-2017. The cases and population at risk were categorized in low (<1,500m), moderate (1,500m -2,500m), high (2,500m -3,500m) and very high altitude (3,500-5,500m) according to the place of residence. The derived crude and direct standardized age-sex adjusted mortality and hospital admission rates were calculated. A total of 38,201 deaths and 75,893 stroke-related hospital admissions were reported. High altitude populations (HAP) had lower stroke mortality in men (OR: 0.91 [0.88 - 0.95]) and women (OR: 0.83 [0.79 - 0.86]). In addition, HAP had a significant lower risk of getting admitted to the hospital when compared with the low altitude group in men (OR: 0.55 [CI95% 0.54 - 0.56]) and women (OR: 0.65 [CI95% [0.64 - 0.66]). This is the first epidemiological study that aims to elucidate the association between stroke and altitude using four different elevation ranges. Our findings suggest that living at higher elevations offers a reduction or the risk of dying due to stroke as well as a reduction in the probability of being admitted to the hospital. Nevertheless, this protective factor has a stronger effect between 2,000m to 3,500 m. |
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