Stroke risk factors- influence of the age

Objective: To analyze the influence of different risk factors on the age at which a stroke occurs. Method: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted including all patients admitted consecutively with ischemic stroke at the University Hospital of Burgos (Spain). Sociodemographic and clinical, parameters were collected, exploring possible association with patient’s age by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: 436 patients were included, with a mean age of 75.39 years (SD ±12.674). The most frequent risk factors were high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. In the case of having a personal history of arterial hypertension (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.49; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.49-4.16), having a sedentary lifestyle (OR 3.24; 95%CI 1.97-5.31) was related with a greater probability that the patient is aged 75 years or older. However, being overweight/obese (OR 0.51; 95%CI 0.30-0.88), being an active smoker (OR 0.47; 95%CI 0.02-0.11) or alcohol consumption (OR 0.42; 95%CI 0.26-0.69) increased the probability of stroke occurrence before 75 years. Conclusion: The age of occurrence of a case is related to the occurrence of certain risk factors, which are determined in the planning of future education campaigns.