Original Paper

Impact of Female Gender on Prognosis in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Ischemic Stroke
Adrià Arboix^a, Manel Milian^c, Montserrat Oliveres^a, Luís García-Eroles^b, Juan Massons<sup>a

a</sup>Cerebrovascular Division, Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitari del Sagrat Cor, University of Barcelona,
^bClinical Information Systems, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and
^cDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari del Sagrat Cor, Barcelona, Spain

Address of Corresponding Author

Eur Neurol 2006;56:6-12 (DOI: 10.1159/000094249)

  Key Words

• Ischemic stroke
• Cerebrovascular event
• Diabetes

  Abstract

This study assessed gender differences in diabetic patients with ischemic stroke with respect to vascular risk factors, clinical features and early outcome. Ischemic stroke was diagnosed in 261 diabetic women and 300 diabetic men of 2,446 ischemic stroke patients included in a prospective stroke registry over 17 years. Mean ± SD age was 77.5 ± 8.3 years in women and 71.8 ± 9.7 years in men (p < 0.021). Risk factors for stroke including hypertension, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and valvular heart disease were significantly more common in women. Cardioembolic infarction occurred in 29.5% of women and 15.3% of men (p < 0.001), and lacunar stroke in 40.3% of men and 29.9% of women (p < 0.006). In-hospital mortality was 14.9% in diabetic women, and 8.3% in diabetic men (p < 0.02). After multivariate analysis, congestive heart failure (OR = 4.59), frontal lobe involvement (OR = 2.67), hypertension (OR = 1.62) and age were independent variables for ischemic stroke in diabetic women. Diabetic women had a poor prognosis, which may be due to differences in age, comorbidity and stroke subtype distribution.

Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Adrià Arboix
Cerebrovascular Division, Department of Neurology, Hospital del Sagrat Cor University of Barcelona, Viladomat 288
ES-08029 Barcelona (Spain)
Tel. +34 93 494 8940, Fax +34 93 494 8906, E-Mail aarboix@hscor.com

  Article Information

Received: January 6, 2006
Accepted: April 7, 2006
Published online: June 27, 2006
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 40