ArticleBMC neurology2021
Increasing false positive diagnoses may lead to overestimation of stroke incidence, particularly in the young: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sex Differences in Young Adult Stroke Severity Using Linked Colorado-All Payer's Claims Database and the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Registry.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- Predicting Acute Cerebrovascular Events in Stroke Alerts Using Large-Language Models and Structured Data.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Cryptogenic Stroke and PFO Closure: Does Sex Matter?Journal of the American Heart Association · 2023Article
- Stroke unit demand in Norway - present and future estimates.BMC health services research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStroke incidence is reportedly increasing in younger populations, although the reasons for this are not clear. We explored possible reasons by quantifying trends in neurologically focused emergency department (ED) visits, classification of stroke vs. TIA, and imaging use.
methodsWe performed a retrospective, serial, cross-sectional study using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to examine time trends in age-stratified primary reasons for visit, stroke/TIA diagnoses, and MRI utilization from 1995 to 2000 and 2005-2015.
resultsFive million eight hundred thousand ED visits with a primary diagnosis of stroke (CI 5.3 M-6.4 M) were represented in the data. The incidence of neurologically focused reason for visits (Neuro RFVs) increased over time in both the young and in older adults (young: + 111 Neuro RFVs/100,000 population/year, CI + 94 - + 130; older adults: + 70 Neuro RFVs/100,000 population/year, CI + 34 - + 108). The proportion of combined stroke and TIA diagnoses decreased over time amongst older adults with a Neuro RFV (OR 0.95 per year, p < 0.01, CI 0.94-0.96) but did not change in the young (OR 1.00 per year, p = 0.88, CI 0.95-1.04). Within the stroke/TIA population, no changes in the proportion of stroke or TIA were identified. MRI utilization rates amongst patients with a Neuro RFV increased for both age groups.
conclusionsWe found, but did not anticipate, increased incidence of neurologically focused ED visits in both age groups. Given the lower pre-test probability of a stroke in younger adults, this suggests that false positive stroke diagnoses may be increasing and may be increasing more rapidly in the young than in older adults.
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