--

From Vital and Health Statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics Number 68 � May 13, 1981 

PROPERW OF THt! 

PUBLICATIONS BRANCH 

Stroke Survivors Among the Noninstitutionalize‘8T?!%&!llfiio11 

20 Years of Age and Over: United States, 1977 

by Abigail J. Moss, Division of Health Interview Statistics 

Findings from a special stroke supplement to the 

1977 National Health Interview Survey questionnaire 

are presented in this report from the National Center 

for Health Statistics. The supplement was developed 

in response to a request from officials at the National 

Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. 

Their particular data needs centered around three 

major areas: (1) estimating the number of adults 

among the noninstitutionalized population who have 

survived a stroke, (2) gaining information on the 

relationship between selected chronic conditions and 

a history of stroke, and (3) describing the characteristics of persons who have had symptoms associated 

with stroke. This report addresses each of these objectives and presents related stroke data by three 

demographic variables-age, sex, and race. 

According to data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), in 1977 an estimated 2,692,000 

persons 20 years of age and over in the U.S. civilian 

noninstitutionalized population had experienced a 

cerebrovascular accident–a stroke–and survived 

(table 1). 

Some persons reported stroke in response to 

questions on the NHIS questionnaire concerning 

doctor visits or restricted activity in the past 2 

weeks, chronic limitation of acti~ity, or selected 

chronic conditions. However, the question that is 

the primary source of information on the prevalence 

of stroke survivors, asked of all persons who had not 

reported stroke in response to earlier questions, was 

“Has EVER had a stroke?” 

Both self-respondents and proxy respondents 

were asked the stroke questions. Because of the 

characteristic manifestations of stroke, the use of 

proxy respondents probably produced little underreporting of this condition. At the same time, proxy 

respondents and self-respondents alike probably contributed to some overreporting of this condition. 

Users of these data should remember that NHIS 

stroke estimates are representative only of the civilian 

noninstitutionalized population living at the time of 

interview. Excluded from the estimates are persons 

who had experienced a stroke but were not living at 

the time of the interview as well as those residing in 

long-term care facilities. (About one-fourth of all 

residents in nursing homes have cerebrovascular 

disease. 1) 

Furthermore, the above estimate of about 2.7 

million stroke survivors is based on respondents’ 

perceptions of a stroke’s occurrence; that is, it is 

based on self-diagnosed as well as medically diagnosed strokes. A stroke is classified as medically 

diagnosed whenever there was a positive response 

to the question: “Has a doctor EVER told - -he had 

a stroke?” While an estimate based only on medically confirmed strokes might be more precise than 

one based on both self-diagnosed and medically 

confirmed strokes, no significant differences were 

noted between medically confirmed and non-medically 

confirmed strokes by sex, age, or race to warrant 

separate treatment of the data. Limiting the data 

presented to medically confirmed strokes was considered, but there is evidence to suggest that some 

strokes are not actuzdly medically diagnosed. Excluding all persons without a medical diagnosis would 

probably result in an undercount. No doubt the estimate in this report does include persons who would 

not have been medically diagnosed as having had a 

stroke had they been examined by a medical doctor. 

All NHIS data are subject to this kind of reporting 

error. Therefore, the fact that some persons might be 

misclassified is not sufficient reason to exclude all 

persons without a medical confirmation. 

Specifically, medically confirmed strokes were 

reported for 92 percent of the stroke population 

(table 2). (Persons who did not know whether the 

stroke was medically confirmed were excluded from 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service, Office of Health Researchr Statistics, and Technology 
� 

2


Table 1. Number and percent distribution of persons 20 years of age and over by stroke status, according to race, sex, and age: United States, 1977 

[Data are based on household interviews of the civilian noninstitutional ized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualifications 

of data are given in the technical notes] 

Race, sex, and age 

All races3 

Both sexes 20 years And over... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Male20yearsand over..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female 20yearsandover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

White 

20 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black 

20 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Ever Never Ever Never 

Total’ had a had a Tots/2 had a had a 

stroke stroke stroke stroke 

Number in thousands Percent distribution 

139,965 2,692 134,487 100.0 

74,341 287 72,639 100.0 

43,357 881 41,605 100.0 

22,266 1,524 20,243 100.0 

65,801 1,316 63,234 100.0 

35,904 125 35,136 100.0 

20,700 484 19,812 100.0 

9,197 70B 8,286 100.0 

74,164 1,376 71,253 100.0 

38,437 163 37,503 100.0 

22,657 397 21,793 100.0 

13,070 817 11,957 100.0 

123,626 2,314 118,928 100.0 

64,671 220 63,268 100.0 

38,792 751 37,266 100.0 

20,163 1,344 18,394 100.0 

58,519 1,162 56,277 100.0 

65,106 1,152 62,651 100.0 

14,420 362 13,672 100.0 

8,372 56 8,091 100.0 

4,098 130 3,87B 100.0 

1,950 176 1,702 100.0 

6,339 148 6,031 100.0 

8,081 215 7,641 100.0 

2.0 98.0 

0.4 99.6 

2.1 97.9 

7.0 93.0 

2.0 98.0 

0.4 99.6 

2.4 97.6 

7.9 92.1 

1.9 98.1 

0.4 99.6 

1.8 98.2 

6.4 93.6 

1.9 98.1 

0.3 99.7 

2.0 9B.O 

6.8 93.2 

2.0 98.0 

1.8 98.2 

2.6 97.4 

0.7 99.3 

3.2 96.8 @ 

9.4 90.6 

2.4 97.6 

2.7 97.3 

‘Includes unknowns.


2Excludes unknowns.


31”cludesall races notshown separately.


the population base used to calculate this percent.) 

Men and women stroke victims had similar proportions ofmedically confirmed strokes. At first glance, 

it would appear that there are differences among the 

three age groups shown in table 2and between black 

and white persons in the percent for whom medical 

attention was reported. In this sample, however, these 

variations were not statistically significant.a 

As ameasure of the approximate number ofadult 

stroke survivors currently in the noninstitutionalized 

population, the figure of 2.7 millionb is probably a 

fairly complete estimate when compared with estimates of certain other chronic conditions that are 

derived from household interview surveys. Chronic 

aThe t-test with a criticaf vahre of 1.96 (0.05 level of sigtilcance) was 

used to test all comparisons discussed in this report. 

bFol comparative purposes, the stroke prevalence estimate derived 

from data collected by NHIS was 1.5 million personsin 1972, andin 

1978 it was 1.7 million persons. During these years a checklist of 

chronic conditions which included stroke was read to the household 

respondent. 

conditions are generally underreported in health 

interviews. A number of methodological studies 

have shown that respondents report only conditions that they know of and are willing to discuss. 

The conditions that are best reported in health 

interviews are those–such as stroke–with the most 

impact on a person, limiting participation in one’s 

usual activities, resulting in costly treatment, or 

requiring medical care or days in bed. z 

For further details on the survey design and 

procedures used to obtain data shown in this 

report, see the technical notes. 

Age, sex, and race 

An estimated 2 percent of the 1977 civilian 

noninstitutionalized population 20 years of age 

and over had suffered a stroke and survived. The 

prevalence rates for the youngest and oldest age � 

groups differed markedly, from a low of 4 persons 

per 1,000 population aged 20-44 years to ahighof 
--

ackincedata 3 

‘o 

Table 2. Percent of persons with stroke for whom medical confirmation 

ofstroke wasreported, byage, sex, and race: United Statesr 1977 

[Data are based onhousahold intewiawsof the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The sourca of data, sampling, and limitations and 

qualifications of data are given in the technical notes] 

Percent 

Age, sex, and race medically 

con firmed 

All persons 20 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.0 

Age 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.0 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.4 

65 years And over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.9 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.5 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.4 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.5 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.6 

NOTE: Denominator of percent excludes unknown medical confirmation. 

70 persons per 1,000 population 65 years of age 

or older. In fact, over one-half of the stroke victims 

surveyed were at least 65 years of age; this reflects 

vivors experienced their initial attack before they 

were 65 years old–64.7 percent compared with 57.1 

percent. 

Data for black and white stroke victims seem to 

suggest that black persons are more likely than white 

persons to have their first stroke at an early age. However, the apparent black-white differences seen in 

table 3 are not statistically significant. 

Further examination of table 3 suggests that the 

data shown there may partly reflect the disproportionate age distribution of black and white persons 

in the population. For 1977, the U.S. Bureau of the 

Census estimated that 11.4 percent of the white population and 7.7 percent of the black population were 

65 years of age or older.q 

Table 3. Number and percent distribution of persons 20 years of age 

and over with stroke by age at time of first stroke, according to race 

and sex: United States, 1977 

[Data are basad on household intewiews of the civilian nOninstitutionalized population. The aourca of data, sampling, and limitations and 

qualifications of data ara given in the technical notes] 

All persons Age at time of first stroke 

� the	 fact that stroke is a disease of the aged.s 

The stroke prevalence rate was similar for men 

and women under 45 years of age. For ages 45 and 

over, however, the reported prevalence for men was 

somewhat higher–40 per 1,000 population compaed 

to 34 per 1,000 population. National Health Interview Survey results further show black persons to 

have slightly higher stroke prevalence estimates than 

white persons have (2.6 and 1.9 percent, respectively). 

Similarly, when these data have been age adjusted to 

the U.S. adult population, the age-standardized estimates of stroke are higher for black persons (2.9 percent) than for white persons (1. 9 percent).= These 

racial differences, for the most part, occurred regardless of age. Statistically different stroke estimates by 

sex and color, however, were observed only between 

black women (2.7 percent) and white women (1.8 

percent). 

All respondents who reported stroke were asked: 

“How old was at the time he had his first stroke?” 

Data derived from this question are shown in table 3. 

A higher proportion of male than female stroke sur­

�cData were adjusted to the age distribution of the 1977 U.S. civilian 

noninstitutionalised population 20 years of age and over. The reader 

should use the age-adjusted rates only for exatnination of the relationships wi’din a given vtiable. Any quotation of percents and age-specific 

rates should be of the crude rates rather than the age-adjusted data. 

Rece and sex 20 years 

and over Under 45-64 

widr stroke 45 years years 

Al I racesl Number in thousands 

Both sexes . . . . . . . 2,692 476 991 

Male . . . . . . . . . . 1,316 196 571 

Female . . . . . . . . . 1,376 280 420 

White 

Both sexes . . . . . . . 2,314 390 863 

Male . . . . . . . . . . 1,162 165 505 

Female . . . . . . . . . 1,152 224 358 

Black 

Both sexes . . . . . . . 362 84 129 

Male . . . . . . . . . . 148 *29 67 

Female . . . . . . . . . 215 55 62 

All racesl Percent distribution 

Both sexes . . . . . . . 100.0 19.7 41.1 

Male . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 16.5 48.2 

Female . . . . . . . . . 100.0 22.B 34.3 

White 

Both sexes . . . . . . . 100.0 18.7 41.5 

Male . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 15.6 47.9 

Female . . . . . . . . . 100.0 21.8 34.9 

Black 

Both sexes . . . . . . . 100.0 25.9 39.8 

Male . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 *22.5 51.9 

Female . . . . . . . . . 100.0 28.2 31.8 

11nclude~ aII racea not shown separately. 

2Excludas unknowns. 

65 years 

and over 

945 

418 

527 

829 

385 

445 

111 

*34 

39.2 

35.3 

43.0 

39.8 

36.5 

43.3 

34.3 

*26.4 

39.5 

NOTE : Whan a figure is shown with an asterisk, it is presentad only 

for the purpose of combining with other calls. An estimate has a 

relative standard error of lass than 30 parcent when the aggregate is at 

least 35,000. 

77 
4 acklncedata 

Table 4, which presents the percent of stroke 

survivors aged 65 years and over by age at time of 

first stroke, shows no appreciable difference between 

white and black persons with respect to age at first 

stroke. 

— 

Table 4. Number of persons 65 years of age and over with stroke and 

percent distribution by age at time of first stroke, according to sex 

and race: United States, 1977 

[Data are based on household interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and 

qualifications of data are given in the technical notes] 

Number of 

persons 65 Age at dme of first stroke 

Sex and race years and Total’ over with 

stroke in Under 45-64 65 years 

thousands 45 years years and over 

Percent distribution 

Total* . . . . 1,524 100.0 4.8 28.5 66.8 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . 708 100.0 “4.4 31.9 63.7 

Female . . . . . 817 100.0 5.0 25.6 69.4 

Race 

White . . . . . . 1,344 100.0 4.5 29.4 66.2 

Black . . . . . . 176 100.0 * 7.0 22.3 70.7 

lExcludes unknowns.


2, nc, udes all races not shown separately.


NOTE: When a figure is shown with an asterisk, it is presented only for


the purpose of combining with other cells. An estimate has a reletive


standard error of less than 30 percent when the aggregate is at least


35,000.


Hospitalization for stroke 

During the NHIS interview, respondents were 

asked whether stroke survivors were hospitalized for 

their first stroke. Responses to this item indicate that 

about 62 percent of the stroke survivors were hospitalized for their first stroke (table 5). A hospitalization 

was reported for proportionately more men than 

women (66.5 compared with 58.3 percent). 

Moreover, a higher percent of males under 65 

than 65 years of age or older were hospitalized for 

their initial stroke (73.4 compared with 61.3 percent). 

In contrast, the proportion of females hospitalized 

for stroke did not vary appreciably among specific 

age groups. 

The overall percents of white and black persons 

hospitalized for initial strokes are similar. When these 

data are compared for males and for females, it 

appears that a substantially greater proportion of 

black males than white males were hospitalized (74.6 

compared with 65.6 percent). The difference between 

these estimates, however, could be due to sampling 

variability. 

Chronic activity limitation 

Besides the frequent loss of life associated with 

o stroke, a high proportion of stroke victims who survive are left with permanent disabilities. As an illustration, table 6 contrasts the percent of persons with 

and without stroke by the kind of activity limitation 

they had at the time of interview. These data are 

derived from a series of NHIS questions that enable 

sample persons to be classified into one of four broad


limitation categories-unable to perform major


activity, limited in amount or kind of major activity, ~


limited in other activities, and not limited in any


activities. Major activities include working, keeping


house, and going to school. In NHIS, only activity


limitations caused by at least one chronic condition


are classified.


In 1977, an estimated 72 percent of the stroke 

population were limited in performance of their 

major or other activities in some way because of 

either a stroke or some other chronic conditioned In 

contrast, 17.4 percent of adults without stroke were 

limited in some way. As expected, with each succeeding age group there was an increase in reported 

activity limitation for both the stroke and nonstroke 

populations. Among stroke victims, 39 percent of 

those 20-44 years of age reported some limitation, 

compared with 78.5 percent of persons 65 years of 

age or older. � 

Over 40 percent of the stroke population surveyed were unable to perform their major activity at 

all (compared with less than 5 percent of other 

adults in the population). While this estimate varied 

appreciably between males and females (58. 1 and 

25.1 percent, respectively), the dissimilarity may 

primarily reflect a sex difference in the NHIS definition of usual activity roles. For example, women 

who had to leave the work force because of a stroke 

and now consider their usual activity as “keeping 

house” are asked about any limitations associated 

with housework and classified accordingly. Men in 

the same situation are classified according to their 

ability to work outside the home. 

All limitations combined were reported for a 

higher proportion of males with stroke (75.8 percent) 

than females (68. 1 percent). The pattern is consistent 

with activity limitation estimates for males and females in the general population. 

Some of the difference in the limitation-of-activity 

estimates for persons with and without stroke is 

attributable to the disproportionate number of older 

persons in the stroke population. When making 

comparisons between population groups with varyin~ � 

dFor ~i~ ~aly$i~, no data were available on whether a stroke s~ivor’s 

activity limitation was related to the stroke. 
advancedata 5 

Table 5. Number and percent distribution of persons m[Data are based on household interviews of the civilian 

All persons 

Race, sex, and age 

20 years 

and over 

with stroke 

All races2 

Both sexes 20years and over . . . . 2,692 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881 

65 years And over . . . . . . . . . . . 1,524 

Male 20 years and over. . . . . . . . 1,316 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484 

65 years And over . . . . . . . . . . . 708 

Female 20 years and over . . . . . . 1,376 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 

65 years And over . . . . . . . . . . . 817 

White 

20years And over . . . . . . . . . . . 2,314 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751 

65years And over . . . . . . . . . . . 1,344 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,162 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,152 

Black 

20years And over, . . . . . . . . . . 362 

2044years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 

65 years And over . . . . . . . . . . . 176 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 

‘ Excludes unknowns. 

21ncludes all races not shown separately. 

20 years of age and over with stroke by whether hospitalized for first stroke, according to race, 

sex, and age: United States, 1977 

noninstitutional ized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualifications 

of data are given in the technical notas] 

Hospitalized Not All persons Hospitalized Not 

for first hospitalized 20 yea~ for first hospitalized 

stroke for first and over stroke for first 

stroke with stroke’ stroke 

Number in thousands Percent distribution 

1,526 921 100.0 62.4 37.6 

132 76 100.0 63.5 36.5 

530 . 271 100.0 66.2 33.8 

864 574 100.0 60.1 39.9 

797 401 100.0 66.5 33.5 

59 *26 100.0 69.4 30.6 

329 116 100.0 73.9 26.1 

409 259 100.0 61.3 38.8 

728 521 100.0 58.3 41.7 

72 50 100.0 58.5 40.7 

200 155 100.0 56.2 43.5 

456 315 100.0 59.1 40.9 

1,308 798 100.0 62.1 37.9 

103 50 100.0 67.8 32.9 

447 236 100.0 65.4 34.6 

758 512 100.0 59.7 40.3 

695 365 100.0 65.6 34.4 

613 433 100.0 58.6 41.4 

213 119 100.0 64.2 35.8 

*27 *25 100.0 *52.9 ‘49.0 

83 35 100.0 70.3 29.7 

104 59 100.0 63.8 36.2 

100 *34 100.0 74.6 25.4 

113 85 100.0 56.8 42.7 

NOTE: When a figure is shown with an asterisk, it is presented only for the purpose of combining with other cells. An estimate hasa relative standard 

error of less than 30 percent when the aggregate isatleast 35,000. 

age distributions, it is helpful to take these differences into account. Comparisons can be made within 

age groups or by using age-standardized percents. 

Table 7 shows limitation-of-activity data with and 

without age adjustment. Age adjustment reduces the 

estimate of the proportion of the stroke population 

comprising the most severe limit ation-of-activity 

catego~ from 41.2 to 26.1 percent. However, the 

difference between the estimates of the most severe 

limitation for persons with and without stroke remained substantial (26. 1 compared with 4.7 percent). 

Age adjustment had little or no effect on the estimates for the two remaining limit ation-of-activit y 

categories. (see footnote c.) 

Chronic conditions associated with stroke 

Four health conditions associated with stroke 

were listed on the 1977 NHIS questionnaire: (1) 

diabetes or sugar diabetes, (2) high blood pressure or 

hypertension, (3) heart disease or heart trouble, and 

(4) blood clots in arms, legs, or lungs. Data obtained 

from responses to questions as to whether sample 

persons had any of these conditions in the 12-month 

period preceding the interview are shown in tables 

8 and 9. 

The methodology employed for obtaining data 

on these conditions was not intended to produce 

prevalence figures similar to the estimates of chronic 
6


Table 6. Number of persons 20 years of age and over and percent distribution by degree of activity limitation, according to stroke status, age, sex, 

P. and race: United States, 1977 I 

[Data are basad on household interviews of the cjvilia” no”in$titutionelized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualifica- ! 

tions of data are given in the technical notes] 

A crivity limitation status 

Number of 

Stroke status, age, persons in Total Unable to Limited in Limited No 

sex, and race thousands All degrees perform amount or in other activity of limitation major kind of activities limitation 

activity major activity 

With stroke Percent distribution 

Age 

20 years and over . . . . . . 2,692 100.0 71.8 41.2 25.0 5.6 28.2 

2044 years . . . . . . . . . 287 100.0 39.0 12.5 20.9 �5.6 61.0 

45-64 years 881 100.0 70.9 37.9 27.6 5.4 29.1 

65 years and over . . . . . . . 1,524 100.0 78.5 48.6 24.3 5.7 21.5 

Sex 

Male, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,316 100.0 75.8 58.1 13.9 3.8 24.2 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,376 100.0 68.1 25.1 35.6 7.3 31.9 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,314 100.0 71.4 40.8 24.6 6.0 28.6 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 100.0 77.3 45.6 27.9 �3.6 22.9 

Withoutstroke 

Age 

20 years and over. . . . . . 134,487 100.0 17.4 4.6 9.0 3.8 82.6 

20-44 years . . . . . . . . . 72,639 100.0 8.5 1.2 4.4 2.8 91.5 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . 41,605 100.0 22.0 5.6 12,0 4.5 78.0 

65 years and over. . . . . . 20.243 100.0 40.3 14.8 19.7 5.8 59.7 (’-

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . 63,234 100.0 18.2 7.6 7.0 3.6 81.8 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,253 100.0 16.7 2.0 10.8 3.9 83.3 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118,928 100.0 17.2 4.4 9.0 3.9 82.8 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,672 100.0 20.3 7.1 10.5 2.8 79.6 

NOTE: When a figure is shown with an asterisk, iti~~resent~ ~“}v for the~ur~c,~aof .—— combining

———. .. with ..... ~ther~all~. A“ estimate hasa relatjve~ta”dard

error of less than 30percent when theaggregate”isat least 35,000. “ 

conditions routinely produced from NHIS. Rather, 

the items were viewed as providing gross measures 

for observing any differences in the rates between 

stroke victims and the rest of the population. These 

qualifications should be considered when using the 

data shown in these tables. 

For each condition included in table 8, the 

age-specific rates were markedly higher among 

stroke victims than among other persons. The most 

pronounced difference is for heart conditions, reported for almost one-third of the stroke population 

compared with only one-twentieth of other adults 

surveyed. A similar comparison of estimates for the 

three remaining condition groups reveals the following differences: diabetes– 14.6 compared with 3.1 

percent, hypertension–48. 1 compared with 12.5 

percent, and blood clots–4.4 compared with 0.8 

percent. 

When data in table 9 are compared for diabetics 

and nondiabetics, hypertensives and nonhypertensives, and persons with and without heart disease, 

similar patterns are found. Specifically, there were 

proportionately more stroke victims among the 

groups with either diabetes, hypertension, or heart 

disease than among the group without these conditions. Furthermore, persons with all three of these 

conditions were considerably more likely than others 

to have had a stroke. Approximately 1 out of 5 

persons (22.6 percent) with diabetes, hypertension, 

and heart disease was also reported to have had a 

stroke. Similarly, the rate of persons with all of 

these conditions was almost 15 times higher among 

the group of persons who had had a stroke than 

per 

among 

1,000 

those 

persons). 

who had 

Even 

not 

after 

(49.0 

age 

compared 

adjustment, 

with 3.4 

the 

r 

variation between the estimates of stroke survivors 
T 

Table 7. Unadjusted and age-adjusted percent distributions of persons 

20 years of age and over by limitation of activity status, according 

to stroke status: United States, 1977 

[Data are based on household interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and 

qualifications of data are given in the technical notes] 

Activity Unadjusted Age-adjusted’ 

limitation With Without With without status stroke stroke stroke stroke 

Percent distribution 

All persons 20 years and 

over . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

All degrees of limitation . 71.8 17.4 55.2 17.7 

Unable to perform major 

activity . . . . . . . . . . . 41.2 4,6 26.1 4.7 

Limited in amount or kind 

of major activity . . 25.0 9.0 23.5 9.2 

Limited in other activities . 5.6 3.8 5.6 3.8 

No activity limitation. . . 28.2 82.6 44.8 82.3 

‘Adjusted by the diraet method to the age distribution of the total 

civilian noninstitu tiona lized population of the United States. 

with and without these conditions remains substantial. 

These data are consistent with findings from several 

epidemiological studies in which high blood pressure, 

heart disease, and diabetes have been identified as 

~ cardinal risk factors for strokes b 

Symptoms associated with stroke and 

transient ischemic attack (TIA) 

There is general agreement among researchers and 

the medical profession that the risk of stroke is 

substantially increased among persons who have 

experienced transient ischemic attack (TIA). 5 TIA is 

most often described as a history of a neurological 

deficit that clears in a defined period of time, but 

there is less consensus in the criteria for its diagnosis. 

Diagnosis of TIA is difficult for several reasons: the 

transience of symptoms, the similarity of TIA 

symptoms to those of other diseases, the absence of 

residual disability, and the lack of a diagnostic test. 

The symptom data contained in this report were 

derived from responses to a checklist of some of the 

symptoms associated with cerebrovascular disease 

and TIA. The specific symptoms chosen are those 

determined to be caused least often by conditions 

other than cerebrovascular disease and TIA.e The 

following symptom checklist was read to household 

r ‘In this survey, no attempt was made to limit reporting of symptoms to 

those caused by certain conditions, such as stroke or TIA. However, 

symptoms were excluded if the respondent volunteered the information 

that they occurred over a gradual period of time or resulted from an 

accident or injury (e.g., loss of vision due to old age or a blow to the 

head). 

respondents: ( 1) sudden paralysis or weakness of an 

arm and leg on the same side of the body, (2) sudden 

numbness on one side of the body, (3) sudden 

loss of vision, and (4) sudden loss of speech. The 

reference period for this checklist was the 12 months 

immediately preceding the interview. 

The duration of symptoms used to define TIA or 

to distinguish it from stroke is not standardized. 7 

Symptoms characteristic of TIA generally last from 

5 to 30 minutes, but intervals of up to 24 hours also 

occur. Stroke diagnosis is linked to symptoms lasting 

more than 24 hours. 

For this report, symptoms were classified according to whether they lasted for more than 24 hours 

or 24 hours or less. Because of the problems associated with identifying persons with TIA even in a 

clinical setting, however, symptom data in this report 

are not presented as prevalence estimates of TIA. 

Furthermore, the estimated number of persons with 

symptoms is small, further limiting analysis of data 

shown in the remaining tables of this report. 

Only about 2 percent of the adult population 

surveyed were reported to have had one or more 

symptoms during the year preceding the interview 

(table 10). As expected, however, a considerably 

higher proportion of persons with a history of stroke 

were reported to have had symptoms. Approximately 

1 out of 5 persons with stroke experienced symptoms 

during the year preceding the interview ( 17.9 percent 

compared with 1.7 percent of persons without a 

stroke). The population having suffered a stroke can 

also be classified by whether the stroke was suffered 

recently–within 12 months of the interview date. Of 

recent stroke victims, 48.1 percent had one or more 

symptoms, compared with 10.7 percent of the 

residual stroke population. Unfortunately, the number of sample persons with recent strokes is too 

small for detailed tabulation of the data. 

When the population with one or more stroke-like 

symptoms is examined, it can be seen that approximately two-thirds (64.3 percent) of the population 

with no stroke, compared with less than one-half 

(47.5 percent) of the stroke population, had their 

symptoms completely disappear within 24 hours. 

For both population subgroups, the differences 

observed for duration of symptoms by age, sex, or 

race were not st artistically significant. 

The group of persons without a stroke who had 

symptoms lasting more than 1 day is also sizable 

(35.7 percent). As TIA symptoms usually disappear 

in less than 1 day, it appears that many of the persons 

surveyed reported symptoms that were associated 

with some other health condition. 

About one-half of the stroke population experiencing stroke-like symptoms in the past year were 65 

years of age and over, whereas almost one-half (46.8 

percent) of persons without a stroke who had these 
8 acklncedata 

Table 8. Number of persons 20 years of age and over and percent by selected conditions, stroke status, sex, and age: United States, 1977 

[Data are based on household interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualificatiOn$ of data are given in the technical notes] � 

Stroke status, sex, and age 

With stroke 

Bothsexes 20 years And over... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Male20 yearsandover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2044years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female 20yearsandover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Withoutstroke 

Bothsexes 20yearsandover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Male20 yearsandover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2044years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65yearsand over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female 20yearsandover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2044years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Condition 

Blood clots Number of Heart in arms, PersOnsin Diabetes Hypertension disease legs, or thousands 

lungs 

Percent of persons 

2,692 14.6 48.1 31.8 4.4 

287 *6.6 27.5 17.4 *3.1 

881 13.4 52.7 29.7 5.3 

1,524 16.8 49.4 35.6 4.1 

1,316 14.5 42.9 33.6 3.8 

125 *8.O *27.2 *20.O *1.6 

484 13.2 54.1 32.9 *4.3 

708 16.4 38.0 36.6 *4.O 

1,376 14.7 53.2 30.0 4.9 

163 *5.5 27.6 ‘16.0 +4.3 

397 13.6 50.9 25.9 *6.5 

817 17.1 59.4 34.8 4.3 

134,487 3.1 12.5 4.9 0.8 

72,639 1.0 5.0 1.2 0.4 

41,605 4.6 18.2 6.4 1.0 

20,243 7.4 27.8 15.2 1.6 

63,234 2.8 10.4 5.0 0.5 

35,136 

19,812 

8,286 

0.9 

4.4 

7.4 

4.9 

16.1 

19.9 

1.1 

7.4 

16.1 

0.2 

0.8 

1.1 � 

71,253 3.3 14.4 4.8 ‘1.0 

37,503 1.2 5.0 1.3 0.5 

21,793 4.8 20.1 5.4 1.2 

11,957 7.4 33.3 14.6 1.8 

NOTE: When a figure is shown with an asterisk, itispresented only forth epurpoK ofcombining with other cells. Anestimate hesarel~ive tiandard 

error of Ieas than 30 parcent when the aggregate isat least 35,000. 

symptoms were aged 20-44 years (table 11). Men and 

women with stroke were equally likely tohaveexpenenced stroke-like symptoms within theyear. Among 

the population without astroke, however, there were 

proportionately more women than men with 

symptoms. 

About three-fourths of the persons with symptoms had only one of the symptoms listed on the 

questionnaire (table 12). About one-half ofthe stroke 

population, compared with only about 15 percentof 

persons without astroke, had two symptoms ormore 

during the year preceding the interview. Paralysis was 

the symptom most frequently reported for persons 

having had a stroke (65.8 percent), while numbness 

was experienced by the greatest number of persons 

whohad never had astroke (66.9 percent). 

One or two additional questions were asked of 

persons reporting symptoms: 

“Did-- seeadoctorf orhis (symptoms) (at that 

time)?” and, ifadoctor was seen, 

“Was -- hospitalized because of the (symptoms)?” 

Table 13 contains data derived from answers to 

these questions. About 60 percent of persons with 

stroke-like symptoms during the year preceding the 

interview sought medical attention for the symptoms, 

and about 1 out ofevery3 persons whosaw a doctor 

was subsequently hospitalized. A greater proportion 

of persons with stroke than without stroke reported 

medical attention for the symptoms (78.3 percent 

compared with 56.4 percent). Of persons who saw a 

doctor for their symptoms, proportionately about 3 

times as many persons with stroke as without stroke 

were hospitalized (62.8 percent compared with 22.0 

percent). 
achmncedata 9 

Table 9. Number of persons 20 years of age and over and percent distribution and rate per 1,000 population by stroke status, according to selected 

groups of conditions: United States, 1977 

[Data are based on household interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualifica­

“e 

Diabetes . . . . . 

No diabetes . . . 

Hypertension . . 

No hypertension 

Heart disease. . . 

No heart disease. 

Diabetes only . . 

tions of data are given in the technical notes] 

Number of With Without With Without 

persons in Totall stroke stroke stroke stroke thousands 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,593 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,314 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,269 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121,508 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,518 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132,332 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,100 

Hypertension only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,235 

Heart disease only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,513 

Diabetes and hypertension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,348 

Diabetes and heart disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 

Hypertension and heart disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,608 

Diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 

1~xcl~des perSonS with unknown stroke status. 

Percent distribution Rate per 1,000 

population 

100.0 8.6 91.4 146.0 30.9 

100.0 1.7 98.3 851.8 968.8 

100.0 7.2 92.8 481.4 125.0 

100.0 1.2 98.8 514.5 873.8 

100.0 11.5 88.5 318.0 48.9 

100.0 1.4 98.6 680.2 950.4 

100.0 3.9 96.1 30.5 14.9 

100.0 4.8 95.2 234.8 92.9 

100.0 7.1 93.0 91.0 24.0 

100.0 7.9 92.1 39.4 9.2 

100.0 13.4 86.6 18.9 2.5 

100.0 14.0 86.0 134.5 16.5 

100.0 22.6 77.4 49.0 3.4 
� 

10 admncedata 

Table 10. Number of persons 20 years of age and over and percent distributions by whether stroke-like symptoms present in past year and duration 

of symptoms, according to stroke status, age, sex, and race: United States, 1977 

[Data ara basad on household interviews of the civilian noninetitutionalizad population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualificao tions of data are given in the technical notes] 

Number of Symptoms in past year Total with Duration of symptoms 

Stroke status, age, sex, and race persons in Totalq 1 symptom 24 hours More than thousands None 1 ormore or more’ 

Total 

Age 

20years andover2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

With stroke 

Age 

20years andover2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20-44years, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Withoutstroke 

Age 

20yearsand over2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2044years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65yearsand over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

‘Excludes unknowns. 

*lncl”de~a]l races notshown separately. 

NOTE: When a figure is shown with an asterisk, it ispresanted 

or less 24 hours 

Percent distributions 

139,965 100.0 97.9 2.1 100.0 61.6 38.4 

74,341 100.0 98.5 1.5 100.0 64.2 35.8 

43,357 100.0 97.5 2.5 100.0 60.3 39.7 

22.266 100.0 97.7 2.9 100.0 59.0 41.0 

65,801 100.0 98.1 1.9 100.0 57.1 42.9 

74,164 100.0 97.8 2.2 100.0 64.8 35.3 

123,626 100.0 98.0 2.0 100.0 62.9 37.1 

14,420 100.0 96.9 3.1 100.0 53.5 46.3 

2,692 100.0 82.1 17.9 100.0 47.5 52.5 

287 100.0 84.7 15.3 100.0 “65.9 *34. 1 

881 100.0 78.1 21.9 100.0 44.9 55.1 

1,524 100.0 83.9 16.1 100.0 46.4 53.6 

1,316 100.0 80.6 19.4 100.0 45.0 55.0 

1,376 100.0 83.5 16.5 100.0 50.0 49.5 

2,314 100.0 82.5 17.5 100.0 49.9 50.1 

362 100.0 78.5 21.5 100.0 *35.9 64.1 

134,487 100.0 98.3 1.7 100.0 64.3 35.7 

72,639 100.0 98.5 1.5 100.0 63.7 36.3 

41,605 100.0 98.0 2.0 100.0 63.8 36.1 

20,243 100.0 98.1 1.9 100.0 67.0 33.0 

63,234 100.0 98.5 1.5 100.0 60.5 39.5 

71,253 100.0 98.1 1.9 100.0 66.8 33.2 

118,928 100.0 98.4 1.6 100.0 65.3 34.7 

13,672 100.0 97.4 2.6 100.0 57.8 42.2 

only forthe purpose of combining with other cells. Anestimate hasa relative standard 

error of Iess than 30 percent when the aggregate isat least 35rO00. 
achancedata 11 

~ Table 11. Number and percent distributions of	 persons 20 years of age and over with stroke-like symptoms by age andsex, according to duration 

ofsymptoms and stroke status: United States, 1977 

[Data are basad on household interviews of the civilian noninatitutionalized population. The source of data, sampling, andlimitations andqualificationsof data are given in the technical notes] i 

Total with Duration of symp toms Total with Duration of symp toms 

Stroke status, age, and sex 1 symp tom 24 hours More than 1 symptom 24 hours More than or more 1 or less 24 hours or more q or less 24 hours 

Total Number in thousands Percent distributions 

Age 

20 years And over . . . ...’.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,877 1,671 1,043 100.0 100.0 100.0 

20-44years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,151 709 396 40.0 42.4 38.0 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,076 605 399 37.4 36.2 38.3 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 357 248 22.6 21.4 23.8 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,220 647 486 42.4 38.7 46.6 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,657 1,024 558 57.6 61.3 53.5 

With stroke 

Aga 

20 yearsand over . . . . . . . . . . .’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 214 237 100.0 100.0 100.0 

2044yaars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 *29 *I5 9.1 *13.6 *6.3 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 83 102 40.0 38.8 43.0 

65years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 103 119 50.8 48.1 50.2 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 104 127 52.9 48.6 53.6 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 110 109 47.1 51.4 46.0 ● Withoutstroke 

Age 

20 yearsand over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,326 1,417 786 100.0 100.0 100.0 

2044yaars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,088 665 379 46.8 46.9 48.2 

45-64years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 851 506 286 36.6 35.7 36.4 

65 years Andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386 246 121 16.6 17.4 15.4 

Sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940 532 347 40.4 37.5 44.1 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,385 885 440 59.5 62.5 56.0 

Ilncjude$unknown duration. 

NOTE: When a figura is shown with an asterisk, it is presented only for the purpose of combining with othar cells. An estimate has a relative standard 

error of less than 30 parcent when the aggregate is at least 35,000. 
12


Table 12. Number and percent of persons 20 years of age	 and over with stroke-like symptoms, by stroke status, number of symptoms, and kind of _ 

symptom: United States, 1977 

[Data are baaed on household interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The source of data, sampling, and limitations and qualifications of data are given in the technical notes] 

Total with Total with With Without With Without Number and kind of symptoms 1 symptom stroke stroke 1 symptom stroke stroke 

ormora’ ormoreq 

Kind of symptomz 

Paralysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Numbness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Vision less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Speech less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

ll”cl”d~~ ““known stroke status. 

Number in thousands 

2,877 482 2,326 

2,236 236 1,962 

474 160 293 

116 60 50 

52 �26 � 20 

Number in thousands 

978 317 629 

1,861 260 1,555 

593 110 462 

305 152 132 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

77.7 49.0 84.4 

16.5 33.2 12.6 

4.0 12.4 2.1 

1.8 �5.4 “0.9 

Percent 

34.0 65.8 27.0 

64.7 53.9 66.9 

20.6 22.8 19.9 

10.6 31.5 5.7 

Zpercentsby kind of symptom add to more than 100 ascetegories are nOt mutuall Y exclusive. 

NOTE: When a figure is shown with an asterisk, it ispresented only forthe purpose of combining with other cells, An estimate hasa relative standard 

error of Iess than 30 percent when the aggregate is at least 35,000. 

Table 13. Number and percent distributions of persons 20 years and over with stroke-like symptoms by whether doctor seen and, if so, whether 

hospitalized, accord ingto stroke status: United States, 1977 r 

[Data are based on housahold interviews of tha civilian noninstitutionalized population, Theso”rce of data, sampling, and Iimitations andqualificationsof data are given in the technical notes] 

Total with Total with With Without With Without Doctor visit and hospitalization status Isymptom stroke stroke lsymptom stroke stroke 

ormoral or more’ 

Number in thousands Percent distributions 

Doctor visit status 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,877 482 2,326 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Doctorsaen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,492 329 1,121 60.4 78.3 56.4 

Doctor notseen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978 91 866 39.6 21.7 43.6 

Hospitalization status3 

Totai4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,492 329 . 1,121 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Hospitalized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 203 247 30.8 62.8 22.0 

Not hospitalized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,027 121 874 69.2 37.5 78.0 

1 lnclude~ ““known stroke status. 

‘Numbers i“cl”de””k”own if doctor seen; percents exclude unkfl Own if CJoctorseen. 

3Excl”d= Per~”swhO did notsee a doctor. 

4Numbars include unknown if hospital ized; percants exclude unknown if hospitalized. 
----

ackmedm 13 

References 

. 

,.

T1National Center for Health Statist its: Chronic conditions and 4U. S. Bureau of the Census: Statistical A bstract of the United 

impairments of nursing home residents, United States, 1969, States, 1978, 99th ed. Washington, D. C., 1978. p. 29. . by A. Sirrocco. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 12-No. 22. 5 Mules, J.: A population survey of symptoms suggestive of 

DHEW Pub. No. (HRA) 74-1707. Health Resources Admin- transient ischemic attacks. Stroke. 2:114-127, Mar. -Apr. 1971.


istrat ion. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, —
 6 Lavy, S.: Hypertension and diabetes as risk factors in stroke


Dec. 19’73. patients. Stroke. 4:751-759, Sept.-Ott. 1973.


2 National Center for Health Statistics: Prevalence of chronic 7KuIler, L. H.: Survey of stroke epidemiology studies. Stroke.


circulatory conditions, United States, 1972, by C. S, Wilder. 3:579-585, Sept.-Ott. 1972.


Vital and Health Statistics. Series 10-No. 94. DHEW Pub. No.


(HRA) 75-1521. Health Resources Administration. Wash­


ington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Sept. 1974.


3 Lilienfeld, A. M., and Gifford, A. J.: Chronic Diseases and


Public Health. Baltimore. The Johns Hopkins Press, 1966.


p. 284. 

r€

I 
14 ZKkmeMa


Technical notes ~ 

The information from the National Health Inter- Definitions of certain terms used in this report i 

view Survey presented in this report is based on data and the questionnaire used during 1977 appear in \ 

collected during 1977 in a continuing nationwide appendixes H and III of the 1977 Current Estimates 

survey by household interview. Each week a proba- report. 

bility sample of households was interviewed by Whenever possible, data users should seek other 

personnel of the U.S. Bureau of the Census to obtain data sources to provide comparative statistics derived 

information about the health and other characteristics from a variety of data-collection mechanisms. 

of each member of the household in the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. 

During 1977, there were about 41,000 inter- Table 1. Standard errors of estimates of aggregates 

viewed households including about 111,000 persons. Standard error Size of estimate in thousands The total noninterview rate was about 3.3 percent, in thousands 

of which 1.9 percent was due to respondent refusal, 

and the remainder was primarily due to the failure 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

to find an eligible respondent at home after repeated 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 calls. Stroke data were obtained for each household 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

member 20 years of age and over. This sample in- 200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

cluded approximately 73,000 persons. 300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Since the estimates shown in this report are based 700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

on a sample of the population rather than on the 1,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

error. Many tables in this report contain cells in 5,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

125 

174 

which the estimate of a given characteristic is 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 

small. When an estimate or the numerator or de- 50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 

nominator of a percent is small, the sampling error 70,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 

may be relatively high. Therefore, differences observed in many of the tables between figures for 

entire population, they are subject to sampling 3,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 

specific population groups may be due to sampling Table 11.Standard eirrors, expressed in percentage points, of 

variabilityy. estimated parcents 

Cells containing estimates of questionable staEstimated parcent tistical reliability are noted by an asterisk (*) and 

are provided solely to allow readers to recombine Base of percent in thousends 

g g y: 2:; 50 

cells into useful groupings with greater reliability. 

Standard errors appropriate for estimates of the 

number of persons are shown in table I; standard 

errors appropriate for estimated percents are shown 

50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...3.6 

70, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...3.0 

100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 

5.6 

4.7 

3.9 

7.7 

6.5 

5.4 

10.2 

8.6 

7.2 

12.8 

10.8 

9.0 

in table II. 200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8 2.8 3.8 5.1 6.4 

To better understand the limitations of the 300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...1.5 2.3 3.1 4.2 5.2 

estimates presented in this report, data users are 

500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...1.1 

700 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 

1.8 

1.5 

2.4 

2.0 

3.2 

2.7 

4.0 

3.4 

encouraged to familiarize themselves with the survey 1,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...0.8 1.2 1.7 2.3 2.9 

design, methods used in estimation, and general 3,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...0.5 0.7 1.0 1.3 1.6 

5,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.3 qualifications of the data, which are described in 10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.9 

appendix I of the 1977 Current Estimates report 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 

(Series 10, No. 126, in the Vital and Health Sta- 50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 

70,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 tistics series). 
---

aklncedata 15 

Recent Issues of Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics 

. Io. 67. Headache as the Reason for Office Visits, National No. 64. Health Practices Among Adults: United States, 1977 

‘Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: United States, 1977-78 (Issued: November 4, 1980) 

(Issued: January 7, 1981) No. 63. Office Visits for Male Genitourinary Conditions: NaNo. 66. 1979 Summary, National Ambulatory Medical Care tional Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: United States, 

Survey (Issued: March 2, 1981) 1977-78 (Issued: November 3, 1980) 

No. 65. Cough as the Reason for Office Visits, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: United States, 1977-78 (Issued: 

November 5, 1980) 

Symbols 

Data not available 

. . . Category not applicable 

Quantity zero 

0.0 Quantity more than O but less than 0.05 

*	 Figure does not meet standards of 

reliability or precision