Nils Skajaa, who defended his PhD thesis today, has conducted four studies on the occurrence and prognosis of stroke in Denmark.

Stroke is a multifaceted disease associated with substantial disability and a high risk of mortality. The occurrence of stroke is declining overall, but it seems that younger adults (<50 years) may be increasingly affected, which is of great concern. Knowledge on whether such a trend is apparent in Denmark is limited. Furthermore, as the population ages and more and more people survive a stroke, an updated and in-depth understanding of the stroke prognosis is warranted.

First, Nils and colleagues investigated the changes over time in the occurrence and mortality of stroke in Denmark comparing younger and older adults. Then, in three separate studies, the researchers analyzed the prognosis of stroke, focusing on three important outcomes: recurrence, mental disorders, and labor market participation. The PhD project used large-scale, nationwide, Danish registry data to identify more than 100,000 patients with stroke during 2005-2018.