Characteristics of records and patients included in the review.

Unless otherwise stated, all prevalence sample sizes and rates are expressed as persons and per 1000 population; all incidence and mortality sample sizes and rates are expressed as person-years and per 100,000 person-years.
#: Adjust to the WHO (2000) world population calculated from available data.
NR: not reported and not calculated from available data.
†: a history of hemiparesis or hemiplegia confirmed by neurologists from National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) by physical examination.
‡: 1995 Fourth National cerebrovascular disease Conference.