Stroke morbidity in Swedish- and Finnish-speaking populations of Turku, Finland.

Objectives: To examine differences in the morbidity and mortality of stroke between the Finnish- and Swedish-speaking populations in Turku, taking into account the socioeconomic differences between these groups.

Design: The population-based FINMONICA and FINSTROKE stroke registers recorded 5,135 stroke events among persons aged 25-99 years in Turku during 1988-1998. Events in persons aged > or =75 years were not registered in 1993-1995. Information on these persons' native language and socioeconomic status (SES) (measured by taxable income, profession and years of education) were obtained by record linkage with the files of Statistics Finland.

Results: Swedish-speaking men had a lower attack rate of ischaemic stroke than Finnish-speaking men (270, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 214-326 versus 370, 95% CI 352-389, per 100,000 inhabitants per year) and the difference remained significant after adjustment for SES. Among women, the attack rates of ischaemic stroke were similar in both language groups.

Conclusions: The attack rate of ischaemic stroke was lower among Swedish-speaking than among Finnish-speaking men. This difference was not totally explained by the higher SES of the Swedish-speaking population.