of each country in South, East, and South-East Asia. Data from Middle-Eastern countries were excluded, as the people from those countries are ethnically different from those in the other parts of Asia. The abstracts were reviewed for relevance, and data on stroke epidemiology were extracted. Where possible, the original papers were also obtained and reviewed. The most recent studies or review papers from each country, were preferred over older publications. Data on incidence and prevalence were obtained from community-based studies with wide age ranges and no upper limit. Data on the stroke subtypes and vascular risk factors among stroke patients were preferably from multi-center hospital collaborations with high brain scan rates. There was no exclusion based on language. Data on stroke mortality and morbidity were obtained from the GBD study, and vascular risk factors in the community were obtained from the WHO database. All the data search was conducted by a single author (NV). The data were then tabulated, stratified according to geographical regions. Results and discussion Mortality As per the GBD study, the age- and sex-standardized mortality in Asia has a wide range (Table 1).2 The lowest rates are observed in Japan (43.4/1,000,000 person-years and Singapore (47.9/100,000 person-years), followed by Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Bhutan. The highest rates are observed in Mongolia (222.6/100,000 person-years) and Indonesia (193.3/100,000 person-years), followed by Myanmar and North Korea. All three regions show a range of mortality values, although, in general, they are lower in South Asia and high-income countries in East Asia. These varying rates may reflect the differences in stroke incidence, disease severity, and quality of healthcare. Competing causes of death such as coronary artery disease may provide a falsely low mortality value attributable to stroke. Incidence Stroke incidence data are available for most countries in East Asia, but only for some in the other regions (Table 1).6-15 The lowest rate is observed in Malaysia (67/100,000 person-years). The highest rates are in Japan (422/100,000 person-years among men and 212/100,000 person-years among women) and Taiwan (330/100,000 person-years). However, the results are not strictly comparable, as the methods used were variable and the studies were performed at different time points. However, the observed variations may reflect differences in the risk-factor prevalence, screening/detection method and level of control. Prevalence Data on stroke prevalence are more readily-available than those on incidence; especially so in East Asia (Table 1).6-9,12,15-23 Comparisons of the studies are difficult to perform as differing study methods were used for case-finding, and differing age bands were investigated. These studies were also conducted at different time points. As prevalence reflects the balance between incidence and mortality, a low prevalence may be due to low incidence or high mortality or both; conversely, a high prevalence may be due to high incidence or low mortality or both. Competing illnesses such as coronary artery disease may reduce the number of stroke survivors and provide a falsely low stroke prevalence value. Prevalence still, however, reflects the status of disease in the community that healthcare services for chronic diseases need to actively deal with. Stroke burden Arguably, the best measure of stroke burden is the number of DALYs lost because of stroke. Based on data from the GBD study, there was a wide range of age- and sex-standardized stroke DALYs lost in Asia, in 2010 (Table 1).2 The lowest rates are 288 http://j-stroke.org https://doi.org/10.5853/jos.2017.00234 Venketasubramanian, et al. Stroke in South, East, and South-East Asia in Japan (706.6 /100,000 people) and Singapore (804.2/100,000 people), with low rates also observed in Bangladesh and Bhutan. The highest rates are in Mongolia (4,409.8/100,000 people) and Indonesia (3,382.2/100,000 people), with high rates also observed in Myanmar, Lao PDR, North Korea, and Cambodia. As in the case of mortality, a range of the rates of DALYs lost are observed in all three regions, but the DALYs lost tend to be lower in high-income countries in East and South-East Asia. The DALYs lost reflect the net effects of mortality, incidence, and disability among prevalent cases, and the latter possibly indicates the effects of stroke severity and rehabilitative services. Vascular factors Increasing age, sex (male), and genetics are non-modifiable risk factors for stroke. The modifiable stroke risk factors are shown in Table 2, based on data from the WHO.6,24 These were derived from community-based cross-sectional surveys. Similar criteria were used for diagnosis, which makes the studies comparable. Hypertension remains the most common medical risk factor for stroke, whereas current smoking and inactivity are the most predominant among lifestyle-related risk factors. In most countries, high or low frequencies of occurrence are observed consistently across all risk factors for that country, compared to other countries. There is a range of frequencies within each region. A high prevalence of hypertension is seen in Mongolia and Pakistan (low in Korea and Singapore); diabetes mellitus in Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, and Mongolia (low in Vietnam, Timor Leste, and DPR