Association between dehydration and stroke, a retrospective cohort study of a large database

A strong association between dehydration and stroke was found. The largest association was with intracerebral hemorrhage. Both physiologic changes of normal aging and medications used to treat cardiovascular stroke risk factors increase older adults' risk for dehydration. The strength of this study is the propensity risk management of over 3 million older adults (≥80 years). Limitations of this study include the retrospective nature of database evaluation. Future studies should evaluate whether increased hydration status leads to decreased stroke.