Background and aims The aim of the present study was to assess the risk factor burden and stroke etiology of young stroke patients in Estonia and to compare the results with similar cohorts from other countries. Methods This study includes ischemic stroke patients aged 18–54 years from the prospective Estonian Young Stroke Registry between 2013 and 2020. All patients were managed in a stroke unit following a prespecified detailed protocol. Data on stroke risk factors, etiology, and stroke severity were analyzed. Results A total of 437 patients (mean age 44.7 ± 8.3 years; 62% males) were included in the registry during the 8-year study period. A total of 50.2% of patients had ≥ 3 well-documented risk factors (higher for men: odds ratio (OR) 3.8; 95% cardiac index confidence interval (CI) 1.8–8.3; p < .001) and 6.2% of patients had ≥ 3 less well-documented risk factors. While 42% of patients had undetermined cause of stroke (34% of them cryptogenic), the second most frequent etiologies were large-artery atherosclerosis and cardioembolism (both 19%). 60 percent of cardioembolic strokes were due to high-risk causes. Large-artery atherosclerosis was more prevalent in men (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1–3.3; p = .05) and among older patients (OR 6.2; 95% CI 1.8–21.4; p = .008). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score on admission was 3 (interquartile ranges 2–6), stroke was more severe in men ( p = .05). Conclusions Our study revealed that young patients with stroke in Estonia have higher burden of well-documented risk factors, higher prevalence of high-risk cardioembolic causes and higher prevalence of large-artery stroke compared to other young stroke cohorts.

Background and purpose Previous studies conducted elsewhere in the world have demonstrated an increase in the incidence of ischemic stroke (IS) in younger ages. We sought to determine stroke incidence and 28‐day case‐fatality rates in 15‐ to 54‐year‐old residents of Tartu, Estonia from 2013 to 2017. Methods All stroke cases that were the first ever in a lifetime (IS, nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage [ICH], and subarachnoid hemorrhage [SAH]) in 15‐ to 54‐year‐old residents of Tartu, Estonia were prospectively registered from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017. Several additional overlapping data sources were used for case ascertainment including other departments of the Tartu University Hospital and outpatient clinic, Estonian Cause of Death Registry, and the Estonian Electronic Health Record. All cases were thoroughly validated before inclusion. Results We identified 110 cases (43.6% female) of first‐ever stroke (IS 72.7%, ICH 12.7%, SAH 14.6%), out of which 85.5% were included prospectively. The mean age at onset was 44.3 ± 8.5 (SD) years. The mean age at onset was higher for men than for women (p = 0.046). The incidence of stroke standardized to the 1976 European standard population (EUR) was 46.1/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 37.4–54.8). IS incidence was 33.4/100,000 EUR (95% CI: 26–40.7). The total stroke incidence was higher in 45‐ to 54‐year‐old men than in women in the same age group (rate ratio, 2.24; 95% CI: 1.35–3.71). There were no more significant differences between sexes or age groups. The 28‐day case‐fatality rate was 10.9% for all strokes. Conclusions Our study shows higher crude incidence and case fatality of stroke in the young compared to studies from other high‐income countries.

Background: Behavioral risk factors are common among young patients with stroke.This study aimed to compare the health behavior of patients and healthy controls and develop a combined risk score of health behavior. Methods:The health behavior of patients aged 18-54 years who suffered an ischemic stroke from 2013 to 2020 in Estonia was compared to the Health Behavior among Estonian Adult Population 2014 study sample. We chose five risk factors for comparison: smoking status, body mass index, physical exercise, diet (salt use and vegetable consumption), alcohol intake (quantity and frequency), and composed a summary score. Results:Comparing 342 patients and 1789 controls, daily smoking (49.0% vs. 22.7%), obesity (33.4% vs. 15.9%), low physical activity (< twice/week) (72.2% vs. 60.5%), excessive salt use (8.6% vs. 4.5%), and frequent alcohol use (≥ weekly) (39.9% vs. 34.0%) were more prevalent among patients. The differences in infrequent vegetable consumption (<6 days/week) and excessive alcohol consumption (7 days, >8 units/females, >16 units/males) were not significant. The observed differences were similar for age groups 18-44 years and 45-54 years. The average Health Behavior Stroke Risk Score (0-10) was 4.6 points (CI 4.4-4.8, SD ± 1.97) for patients and 3.5 points , SD ± 1.90) for controls.Conclusions: Before stroke, young patients displayed significantly worse health behavior than the general population. The largest differences were found for smoking and obesity, and a cumulation of risk factors was observed via the HBSR score.

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