Seasonal variation in the incidence of primary intracerebral hemorrhage: a 16-year nationwide analysis

IntroductionData on nationwide trends and seasonal variations in the incidence of Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH) in the United States (US) are lacking. MethodsWe used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2004-2019) and Census Bureau data to calculate the quarterly (Q1:January-March; Q2:April-June; Q3:July-September; Q4:October-December) incidence rates (IR) of adult (& GE;18 years) ICH hospitalizations, aggregated across Q1-Q4 and Q2-Q3. We report adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for differences in the quarterly incidence of ICH, as compared to acute ischemic stroke (AIS), between Q1Q4 and Q2Q3 using a multivariable Poisson regression model. We additionally performed stratified analyses across the four US regions. ResultsAmong 822,143 (49.0% female) ICH and 6,266,234 (51.9% female) AIS hospitalizations, the average quarterly crude IR of ICH was consistently higher in Q1Q4 compared to Q2Q3 (5.6 vs. 5.2 per 100,000) (aIRR, CI: 1.09, 1.08-1.11)-this pattern was similar across all four US regions. However, a similar variation pattern was not observed for AIS incidence. The incidence (aIRR, CI) of both ICH (1.01, 1.00-1.02) and AIS (1.03, 1.02-1.03) is rising. ConclusionUnlike AIS, ICH incidence is consistently higher in colder quarters, underscoring the need for evaluation and prevention of factors driving seasonal variations in ICH incidence.

Automated summary

This study reveals that compared to acute ischemic stroke, the incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage is consistently higher during colder quarters, suggesting the importance of evaluating and preventing factors driving seasonal variations in intracerebral hemorrhage incidence.