The incidence of the most fatal type of stroke has decreased in Finland as the prevalence of smoking in the country went down with its government's tobacco policies, a new study published in Neurology has found. The stroke is called subarachnoid hemorrhage.
According to a report in Science Daily, the study revealed that there was a rapid decline in the number of people who suffered the deadly stroke in Finland from 1998 to 2012, particularly in younger people. Among those under 50, here was a 45 percent decline in the women and 38 percent decline in the men who had the subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Decrease in smoking related to stroke?: Washington D.C., Aug. 13 (ANI): Looks like Finland's national tobacco... https://t.co/4inL9kgoF9
— Finland News Links (@dlfinland) August 13, 2016
For those people aged over 50, the prevalence of women and men who had the stroke fell by 16 percent and 26 percent respectively, according to the report. During the same period, researchers reportedly found that smoking prevalence in Finland for people 15 to 64 years old also declined by 30 percent.
"Even though we cannot demonstrate a direct causation in nation-wide studies, it is highly likely that the national tobacco policies in Finland have contributed to the decline in the incidence of this type of severe brain hemorrhage," said primary author Professor Jaakko Kaprio, as per a report in the Daily Mail. Kaprio is from the University of Helsinki.
The report said that Finland has lowered the prevalence of smoking in its population by launching public health campaigns and legislative measures against tobacco. According to the report, smoking is one risk factor for suffering a stroke, besides age, high blood pressure, diabetes and other variables.
According to a report published in New Indian Express, the fatal stroke subarachnoid hemorrhage is commonly brought about by a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. This in turn causes a rapid rise in intracranial pressure in the patient's body. Before the study, the report said that Finland had an estimated 1,000 people annually who suffered from this deadly type of stroke and up to 50 percent die within a year.
