Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Incidence Is Increasing

A study published in Neurology, found that cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) incidence is higher than previously reported and has also increased since 2006. Increased incidence was mainly in men and women more than age 45. Consistent with prior data, the incidence of CVT remained highest in younger women for whom there was no increase in CVT incidence across the study. The incidence of CVT in African Americans was found to be higher than in individuals of other racial and ethnic groups.
   
The incidence of CVT cases in the US overall rose from an estimated 13.9 cases per million in 2006 to an estimated 20.2 cases per million in 2014. Cases among all men increased by 9.2%. Cases in women age 45 and more rose by 7.8%, with a 7.8% increase in women age 45 to 64 and a 7.4% increase in those 65 and older. The proportion of cases among women age 18 to 44 remained the same.

It has been determined that not all cases of CVT lead to stroke, and stroke from CVT is rare. In this study, researchers found that an average of 0.66% of all stroke hospitalizations during the decade were due to CVT and the proportion increased 70% over time, going from 0.47% at the start of the study to 0.80% at the end of the study.

For the study, researchers reviewed hospital records in New York and Florida, 2 states with diverse populations. They identified a total of 5,567 new cases of CVT diagnosed between 2006 to 2016 and also examined records for all strokes and strokes caused by CVT. US Census data was used to identify total population numbers in the US and Florida and New York specifically to calculate the overall incidence of CVT in the US.