Analysis of spatio-temporal variations in stroke incidence and case-fatality in Hong Kong

Submitted: 18 December 2014
Accepted: 18 December 2014
Published: 1 November 2011
Abstract Views: 1408
PDF: 932
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Geographical variations in stroke incidence and case-fatality have been documented worldwide. This study examines whether there are spatio-temporal variations in stroke incidence and case-fatality in Hong Kong and attempts to determine to what extent socioeconomic status (SES) and healthcare provision account for these variations. Residence-based hospital discharge data from the Hospital Authority (HA) in Hong Kong were geo-referenced and used to examine incidence rates and case-fatality rates by stroke subtype among the population aged 35 years and above in 1999-2007. Multilevel models were used to examine the spatio-temporal variations. Ischemic stroke incidence was found to decrease among those aged above 55 years, while hemorrhagic stroke incidence increased. Ischemic stroke case-fatality was found to decrease but hemorrhagic stroke case-fatality remained stable. For both subtypes, there were significant variations in stroke incidence and case-fatality across the districts of residence, but insignificant variations across HA service clusters. Only variations in ischemic stroke incidence and hemorrhagic stroke case-fatality at the district level could be partly explained by district-level SES. Identification of districts with higher risk for stroke incidence and case-fatality would help to formulate enhanced preventive measures. Future studies are needed to identify factors that contribute to the geographical variations.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Chau, P. H., Woo, J., Goggins, W. B., Wong, M., Che Chan, K., & Ho, S. C. (2011). Analysis of spatio-temporal variations in stroke incidence and case-fatality in Hong Kong. Geospatial Health, 6(1), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.4081/gh.2011.153