Stroke mortality in Belgrade, Serbia: Age, period, and cohort analyses

Abstract

Objective: To assess the age, period, and cohort effects on stroke mortality in Belgrade, Serbia, between 1989 and 2003. Methods: Mortality data for stroke events were obtained from the Municipal Institute of Statistics. The age- and gender-specific mortality rates were calculated for the cohorts of individuals born between 1904-1908 and 1964-1968. Results: In males, the average mortality rate increased from 80.9/100,000 in 1989-1993 to 111.3/100,000 in 1994-1998, and decreased slightly to 101.8/100,000 in 1999-2003. A similar pattern was observed among females. Stroke mortality risk was strongly related to age in both genders. This age effect was present for both genders, independent of the cohort or time period. The majority of the successive generations in Belgrade had an increased risk of death from stroke in the recent cohorts especially among females. Conclusions: Our results suggest the need to improve efforts in the primary and secondary prevention of stroke. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG.