Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
9TH TÜRKİYE STROKE ACADEMY, Antalya, Türkiye, 13 - 16 Kasım 2025, cilt.31, sa.1, ss.87-88, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
Objective: Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world and is a significant public health problem. Recent epidemiological and clinical studies show significant gender differences in ischemic stroke incidence, risk factors, clinical progression, and prognosis. Women face a higher lifetime risk of stroke; however, specific risk factors related to age, hormonal changes, pregnancy, and childbirth may create a unique clinical picture in women. in men, classical vascular risk factors (such as hypertension, smoking, and dyslipidemia) tend to be more impactful at an earlier age, and the incidence of stroke is higher in younger men compared to women. in addition, both risk factors and the distribution of stroke subtypes, severity of clinical findings, functional outcomes, and mortality rates vary between genders. Therefore, thoroughly assessing gender differences is essential for creating personalized prevention strategies and selecting suitable treatment approaches. Ischemic stroke is a condition that varies by ethnic and racial groups. in this study, we aimed to evaluate genderspecific clinical, demographic, and risk factors in ischemic stroke.
Methods: in this study, 1,600 patients who were followed up at the neurology clinic with acute ischemic stroke between 2020 and 2024 were included. It aimed to identify gender-related differences by comparing stroke causes, clinical results, demographic features, and patient outcomes.
Results: A total of 1573 patients, including 937 males and 636 females, were enrolled in this study. When gender and stroke risk factors were assessed in patients with ischemic stroke, a significant statistical relationship was found with age, presence of diabetes mellitus (DM), smoking, presence of atrial fibrillation (AF), and presence of heart failure (HF). in contrast, no significant relationship was observed between hypertension (HT) and coronary artery disease (CAD). No significant statistical link was observed between anterior circulation stroke, posterior circulation stroke, and gender. A significant statistical correlation was identified between patients' stroke etiology and gender. The rate of having a stroke was significantly higher in females among newly diagnosed oral anticoagulant patients. in male patients, a higher incidence of atherosclerotic stenosis was observed in the cervical segments of the anterior circulation and in both the cervical and intracranial segments of the posterior circulation, whereas no difference was found in the intracranial segments of the anterior circulation. While a significant statistical relationship was found between creatine, hemoglobin, and glucose levels at the time of admission to the emergency department, no significant relationship was observed between HbA1c and LDL levels. No significant statistical relationship was observed between the clinical outcome.
Conclusion: in our study, we assessed gender differences and risk factors in patients with ischemic stroke. While age, diabetes, smoking, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure were found to be associated with gender, no differences were observed in hypertension and coronary artery disease. Similar conflicting results are reported in the literature for hypertension and CAD.
While there was no difference between the anterior and posterior circulations or between genders regarding stroke localization, a significant difference was identified in etiology. The higher rate of stroke, especially in women under NOAC treatment, is significant and warrants further investigation. The higher rates of atherosclerotic stenosis in the cervical and posterior circulation among men are also consistent with previous data.
Laboratory findings showed gender-related differences in creatinine, hemoglobin, and glucose levels, but no differences were observed in HbA1c and LDL. The lack of gender difference in clinical outcomes appears to align with the mixed results reported in the literature.
In conclusion, gender was found to be linked to certain risk factors, etiology, and regions of vascular involvement in ischemic stroke; however, it did not impact clinical outcomes. The high rates of stroke, especially among women, despite the use of NOAC, are an essential finding for future research.