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BACKGROUND:Incidence of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAH) varies wildly across the world and seems to be low in Central and South America (4.2 per 100 000 person-years; CI 95%; 3.1-5.7). The objective of our study was to describe the characteristics of SAH and to estimate its incidence and severity in Martinique, a small French island located in the Caribbean Sea. METHODS:Due to its insular nature and small captive population, Martinique is ideal for the setting up of population-based epidemiological studies with good exhaustiveness. Our study, spanning a 7 year period (2007-2013), consisted of retrospective case ascertainment with multiple overlapping methods. Crude incidence and 30 day case-fatality rates for SAH among the Martinican population were computed for the study period. Incidence and disease severity was also analyzed according to age, gender and aneurysm presence. World age-standardized incidence rates were also calculated. RESULTS:A total of 121 patients had a SAH during the study period, with a higher frequency of female cases (71.1% versus 28.9%, p