Background: National data on the clinical profile and outcomes of ischemic stroke
in younger adults are still infrequent.
Objectives: We aimed to analyze clinical characteristics and outcomes of young patients with first-ever ischemic stroke compared to older patients.
Patients and methods: A prospective cohort study in which Patients 51–84 years of age were compared with younger persons 50 years of age and under in terms of risk factors, clinical presentation, severity, etiology, and outcomes of stroke. For every age group, a logistic model was constructed to predict stroke outcomes.
Results: Among patients 50 years of age and under, 146 cases of first-ever ischemic stroke were identified, while 854 cases were people 51–84 years of age. Younger individuals were 49.5% male, 47.3% currently smoked, and 7.4% had a history of stroke in their family. They more likely to arrive at the hospital independently and tended to appear with less frequent stroke symptoms, such headaches or sensory abnormalities. The majority of young adults (69.9%) had a favorable outcome (mRS ≤ 1) and 18% had an in-hospital complication
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the relatively high rate of smoking and family history of stroke, and the lower rate of hospital arrival by ambulance among young adults. This calls for increasing awareness of the possibility of stroke among young adults and for better prevention, especially smoking cessation.