# Disparities in Patterns of Recurrent Stroke in the Elderly

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $596,979

## Abstract

Stroke is a major public health problem in the United States. It is the fifth leading cause of death and a
leading cause of serious disability in adults. There are an estimated 800,000 strokes in the United States each
year, with an estimated 7 million stroke survivors. Twenty percent of stroke survivors require institutional care
after 3 months and 15%-30% are permanently disabled. Recurrent events, which occur in 185,000 stroke
survivors in the United States each year, are associated with higher mortality rates, greater levels of disability,
and increased costs as compared with first strokes. Stroke in adults is strongly age dependent, and the rate of
adverse outcomes and complications associated with stroke increases with advanced age. Because the United
States population is aging, the population at risk for stroke and recurrent events will increase over the coming
decades. The high prevalence of stroke and its associated deficits impose a large burden on patients, their
families, and the healthcare system. Optimizing post-acute care and secondary prevention efforts for stroke
survivors represents an important target to reduce the burden of recurrent stroke, particularly among the
elderly. Racial/ethnic and regional disparities have been identified for stroke incidence, prevalence, and
mortality, but relatively little research has focused on potential disparities in the patterns of recurrent stroke
events. The Disparities in Patterns of Recurrent Stroke in the Elderly study will use Medicare administrative
data to achieve the following specific aims: 1) to assess temporal patterns in national recurrent stroke rates
among elderly Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with ischemic stroke and describe disparities by
sociodemographic and comorbid/clinical characteristics; and 2) to determine county-level rates of recurrent
stroke, the persistence of geographic patterns over time, and county-level factors that may be contributing to
disparities. Clinical practice, public policy, and reimbursement decisions are increasingly informed by data
obtained from administrative datasets. The Disparities in Patterns of Recurrent Stroke in the Elderly study will
be the largest contemporary investigation of recurrent stroke rates and patterns in the United States. Results
from this project will identify geographic areas and subgroups that have distinctive health profiles that put them
at high risk for recurrent stroke. Such information will inform care providers, insurers, public health agencies,
and policy makers about communities that may derive the greatest benefit from targeted programs and
community-based interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9908037
- **Project number:** 5R01AG056628-03
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JUDITH H LICHTMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $596,979
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9908037

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9908037, Disparities in Patterns of Recurrent Stroke in the Elderly (5R01AG056628-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9908037. Licensed CC0.

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