The objective of the study was to evaluate the trends in stroke mortality in the population of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years from 1994 to 2008.
Material and methods: Mortality data on all permanent residents of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years who died from stroke in 1994-2008 were gathered for the study. All death certificates of permanent residents of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years who died during 1994-2008 were examined in this study. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 codes 430-436, and ICD-10 codes I60-I64) was used. Sex-specific mortality rates were standardized according to the Segi's world population; all the mortality rates were calculated per 100 000 population per year. Trends in stroke mortality were estimated using log-linear regression models. Sex-specific mortality rates and trends were calculated for 3 age groups (35-79, 35-64, and 65-79 years).
Results: During the entire study period (1994-2008), a marked decline in stroke mortality with a clear slowdown after 2002 was observed. The average annual percent changes in mortality rates for men and women aged 35-79 years were -4.6% (P=0.041) and -6.5% (P=0.002), respectively. From 1994 to 2002, the stroke mortality rate decreased consistently among both Klaipėda men and women aged 35-64 years (20.4% per year, P=0.002, and 14.7% per year, P=0.006, respectively) and in the elderly population aged 65-79 years (13.8% per year, P=0.005; and 12% per year, P=0.019). During 2003-2008, stroke mortality increased by 16.3% per year in middle-aged men (35-64 years), whereas among women (aged 35-64 and 65-79 years) and elderly men (aged 65-79 years), the age-adjusted mortality rate remained relatively unchanged.
Conclusions: Among both men and women, the mortality rates from stroke sharply declined between 1994 and 2008 with a clear slowdown in the decline after 2002. Stroke mortality increased significantly among middle-aged men from 2003, while it remained without significant changes among women of the same age and both elderly men and women.