Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study

Worldwide, stroke is the second leading cause of death and a frequent cause of permanent disability. The objective was to identify the first-time stroke modifiable risk factors in the Aseer region, southwest Saudi Arabia. In a multicenter hospital-based case-control study design, all first stroke pa...

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Main Authors: Adel A. Alhazzani, Ahmed A. Mahfouz, Ahmed Y. Abolyazid, Nabil J. Awadalla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Brain Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/222
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spelling doaj-e0e19c222f234fcdb84c662b1f8d58b52021-02-12T00:03:55ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-02-011122222210.3390/brainsci11020222Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control StudyAdel A. Alhazzani0Ahmed A. Mahfouz1Ahmed Y. Abolyazid2Nabil J. Awadalla3Neurology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartments of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaDepartments of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaDepartments of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaWorldwide, stroke is the second leading cause of death and a frequent cause of permanent disability. The objective was to identify the first-time stroke modifiable risk factors in the Aseer region, southwest Saudi Arabia. In a multicenter hospital-based case-control study design, all first stroke patients admitted to hospitals in the Aseer region were included consecutively over one year. Age, sex, and geographical residence-matched controls were selected and included in a ratio of 1:1. Data collected included altitude (low or high), nationality, marital status, educational level, family history of stroke, history of diabetes mellitus, history of systemic hypertension, high cholesterol level, current smoking, obesity, and regular exercise practice. The study included 1249 first-time stroke patients and 1249 age, sex, and residence-matched controls. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and high cholesterol were significantly highly prevalent among cases (57.7%, 49.4%, 42.0%, 29.4%, respectively) compared to controls (31.8%, 25.9%, 30.8%, 12.1%, respectively). Practicing regular exercise was significantly highly prevalent among controls (29.9%) compared to cases (13.1%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that systemic hypertension (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.12, 95%CI: 1.74–2.57), diabetes mellitus (aOR = 1.73, 95%CI: 1.41–2.21), obesity (aOR = 1.95, 95%CI: 1.61–2.28) and high cholesterol (aOR = 1.64, 95%CI: 1.28–2.10) were significant risk factors, while regular exercise practice was a significant protective factor (aOR = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.05–0.26) for stroke. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and high cholesterol are major risk factors for stroke in the Aseer region of southwest Saudi Arabia. The protective role of regular physical activity in reducing the risk of stroke is evident. The observed higher prevalence of potentially modifiable risk factors among stroke cases encourages an urgent need to develop and implement a national program to control these factors.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/222first-time strokerisk factorsmatched multicenter case-controlsouthwest Saudi Arabia
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Adel A. Alhazzani
Ahmed A. Mahfouz
Ahmed Y. Abolyazid
Nabil J. Awadalla
spellingShingle Adel A. Alhazzani
Ahmed A. Mahfouz
Ahmed Y. Abolyazid
Nabil J. Awadalla
Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study
Brain Sciences
first-time stroke
risk factors
matched multicenter case-control
southwest Saudi Arabia
author_facet Adel A. Alhazzani
Ahmed A. Mahfouz
Ahmed Y. Abolyazid
Nabil J. Awadalla
author_sort Adel A. Alhazzani
title Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study
title_short Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study
title_full Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study
title_fullStr Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study
title_full_unstemmed Risk Factors of the First-Time Stroke in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study
title_sort risk factors of the first-time stroke in the southwest of saudi arabia: a case-control study
publisher MDPI AG
series Brain Sciences
issn 2076-3425
publishDate 2021-02-01
description Worldwide, stroke is the second leading cause of death and a frequent cause of permanent disability. The objective was to identify the first-time stroke modifiable risk factors in the Aseer region, southwest Saudi Arabia. In a multicenter hospital-based case-control study design, all first stroke patients admitted to hospitals in the Aseer region were included consecutively over one year. Age, sex, and geographical residence-matched controls were selected and included in a ratio of 1:1. Data collected included altitude (low or high), nationality, marital status, educational level, family history of stroke, history of diabetes mellitus, history of systemic hypertension, high cholesterol level, current smoking, obesity, and regular exercise practice. The study included 1249 first-time stroke patients and 1249 age, sex, and residence-matched controls. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and high cholesterol were significantly highly prevalent among cases (57.7%, 49.4%, 42.0%, 29.4%, respectively) compared to controls (31.8%, 25.9%, 30.8%, 12.1%, respectively). Practicing regular exercise was significantly highly prevalent among controls (29.9%) compared to cases (13.1%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that systemic hypertension (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.12, 95%CI: 1.74–2.57), diabetes mellitus (aOR = 1.73, 95%CI: 1.41–2.21), obesity (aOR = 1.95, 95%CI: 1.61–2.28) and high cholesterol (aOR = 1.64, 95%CI: 1.28–2.10) were significant risk factors, while regular exercise practice was a significant protective factor (aOR = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.05–0.26) for stroke. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and high cholesterol are major risk factors for stroke in the Aseer region of southwest Saudi Arabia. The protective role of regular physical activity in reducing the risk of stroke is evident. The observed higher prevalence of potentially modifiable risk factors among stroke cases encourages an urgent need to develop and implement a national program to control these factors.
topic first-time stroke
risk factors
matched multicenter case-control
southwest Saudi Arabia
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/222
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