BACKGROUND
Studies of trends in the incidence of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) in this century have produced conflicting results, pointing towards either stable or declining rates. We investigated the recent incidence of ICH in Denmark. 

METHODS
The Danish Stroke Registry, established in 2003, is a nationwide clinical registry. Reporting data on hospitalised acute stroke patients to Danish Stroke Registry is mandatory. We retrieved information on patients aged 20+ years with an ICD-10 diagnosis code of ICH (I61) in Danish Stroke Registry in 2008-2017. Incident cases had to be free of a diagnosis of ICH in the 5 years prior to 2008. We calculated crude annual incidence rates and 95% Poisson confidence intervals (CIs).  

RESULTS
We identified 12,188 incident cases (mean age 72.1 years, 53% men) of ICH in 2008 to 2017. Annual incidence rates of ICH per 100,000 person-years were similar throughout the study period. In 2008, the incidence rate was 28.1 (CI 26.5-29.8) and in 2017 28.9 (CI 27.4-30.5). Sex-specific incidence rates per 100,000 person-years were also similar in 2008 and 2017, albeit higher in men than women in both years (men: 30.7, CI 28.4-33.3 vs. 30.5, CI 28.3-32.9; women: 26.62, CI 23.5-27.9 vs. 27.3, CI 25.2-29.6). Incidence rates in 2008 vs 2017 for the age-groups 20-59, 60-74, and 80+ years were, respectively, 7.0 (CI 6.1-8.1) vs 6.9 (CI 6.0-7.9); 43.9 (CI 39.6-48.6) vs 40.0 (CI 36.2-44.2); and  153.4 (CI 141.3-166.4) vs 151.1 (CI 140.0-162.9).

CONCLUSION
Our results suggest stable incidence rates of ICH in Denmark in the past 10 years.

INCIDENCE OF INTRACEREBRAL HAEMORRHAGE IN DENMARK BASED ON DATA FROM A NATIONWIDE STROKE REGISTRY