Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021;11(3):106-111.
doi: 10.1159/000519540. Epub 2021 Oct 8.

Women and Stroke: Different, yet Similar

Nandini Mitta  1 , Sapna Erat Sreedharan  1 , Sankara P Sarma  2 , Padmavathy N Sylaja  1
Affiliations

Women and Stroke: Different, yet Similar

Nandini Mitta et al. Cerebrovasc Dis Extra. 2021.

Abstract

Background: The impact of gender on acute ischemic stroke, in terms of presentation, severity, etiology, and outcome, is increasingly getting recognized. Here, we analyzed the gender-related differences in etiology and outcome of ischemic stroke in South India.

Methods: Patients with first ever ischemic stroke within 1 week of onset presenting to the Comprehensive Stroke Care Centre, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India, were included in our study. Clinical and risk factor profile was documented. The stroke severity was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at onset, and stroke subtype classification was done using Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Ischemic Stroke criteria. The 3-month functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) with excellent outcome defined as an mRS ≤2.

Results: Of the 742 patients, 250 (33.7%) were females. The age, clinical profile, and rate of reperfusion therapies did not differ between the genders. Women suffered more severe strokes (mean NIHSS 9.5 vs. 8.4, p = 0.03). While large artery atherosclerosis was more common in men (21.3% vs. 14.8%, p = 0.03), cardioembolic strokes secondary to rheumatic heart disease were more common in women (27.2% vs. 19.7%, p = 0.02). Men had a better 3-month functional outcome compared to women (68.6% vs. 61.2%, p = 0.04), but was not statistically significant after adjusting for confounders.

Conclusion: Our data, from a single comprehensive stroke unit from South India, suggest that stroke in women are different, yet similar in many ways to men. Guideline-based treatment can result in comparable short-term outcomes, irrespective of admission stroke severity.

Keywords: Gender differences; Ischemic stroke; Outcome; Stroke severity; Stroke subtype.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

References

    1. Turtzo LC, McCullough LD. Sex-specific responses to stroke. Future Neurol. 2010;5:47–59. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wilson ME. Stroke: understanding the differences between males and females pflugers. Arch. 2013 May;465((5)):595–600. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petrea RE, Beiser AS, Seshadri S, Kelly-Hayes M, Kase CS, Wolf PA. Gender differences in stroke incidence and poststroke disability in the Framingham heart study. Stroke. 2009;40:1032–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gall SL, Donnan G, Dewey HM, Macdonell R, Sturm J, Gilligan A, et al. Sex differences in presentation, severity, and management of stroke in a population-based study. Neurology. 2010;74((12)):975–81. - PubMed
    1. Menon SC, Pandey DK, Morgenstern LB. Critical factors determining access to acute stroke care [Internet] Neurology. 1998;51:427–32. - PubMed