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Risk of dementia after stroke is a major concern for patients and carers. Reliable data on risk of dementia, particularly after TIA or minor stroke, are scarce.

Sarah Pendlebury and Peter Rothwell studied the risks of, and risk factors for, dementia before and during 10 years of follow-up after TIA and stroke in 2305 patients in the Oxford Vascular Study. The incidence of varied substantially depending on clinical characteristics including lesion burden and susceptibility factors. Incidence of dementia was nearly 50 times higher in the year after a major stroke compared with that in the general population, but excess risk was substantially lower after transient ischaemic attack and minor stroke. Several independent predictors of dementia were identified and a clinical risk score is now being validated.

Pendlebury ST, Rothwell PM; Oxford Vascular Study.Incidence and prevalence of dementia associated with transient ischaemic attack and stroke: analysis of the population-based Oxford Vascular Study. Lancet Neurol 2019; 18: 248-258.