Stroke was more common in disadvantaged Stockholm areas
An observational study followed 1.4 million people for 12 years, comparing stroke rates across Stockholm neighborhoods with different social and economic status.
Limit: Unmeasured individual education and income could explain the neighborhood association
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In Stockholm, researchers followed 1.4 million people without previous stroke or transient ischemic attack—a brief episode of stroke-like symptoms—in an observational cohort study. They used records of healthcare visits and diagnoses across all levels of care from 2014 to 2025.
Stroke occurred more often in neighborhoods with lower social and economic status. Among both men and women, the gap was greatest before age 65. The analysis found no statistically significant neighborhood differences in stroke incidence at age 80 or older. Transient ischemic attacks were recorded more often in higher-status neighborhoods, particularly among men. The authors suggested that low awareness and underdiagnosis may explain the lower recorded rate of these attacks in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Why it matters
The age-specific results bear on how to target stroke prevention across adulthood. The authors called for geographically focused medical care and prevention in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish cause and effect. Its findings concern people in Stockholm without a previous stroke or transient ischemic attack, not those with a prior event.
From the paper
- Result
… 45–64 and 65–79 for both women and men ( and; e.g. ages 18–44: men HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.25–1.57; women HR 1.35, 1.19–1.53), while high neighbourhood-SES was inversely associated with any stroke in the same three age groups.
- Limitation
First, the reliance on physician-coded diagnoses means the true prevalence of stroke risk factors such as hypertension, atrial fibrillation or comorbid conditions could be underestimated if not accurately recorded.
Quoted word for word from the full text on tandfonline.com.
- High neighborhood socioeconomic status
- Low neighborhood socioeconomic status
- Stroke
- Transient ischemic attack
- Stroke incidence
- Humans
The paper
Neighbourhood health inequity and the incidence of stroke and transient ischemic attack
Karolinska Institutet; Academic Primary Health Care Centre
Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, Oct 29, 2026
