ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate risk factors for stroke in Thai patients at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. DESIGN: Analytic cross-sectional study. SETTING: Stroke unit, Department of Neurology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The patients admitted to the stroke unit of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital with the diagnosis of acute stroke and community-based age control matched subjects were recruited. They were counselled about the possible risk factors for stroke and the stroke patients' medical records were carefully reviewed within 72 hours after admission. This study was done from November 2001 to May 2002. There were two hundred stroke cases and one hundred control subjects enrolled in the present study. The possible risk factors were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The male:female stroke patients were 1.2:1 with a mean age of 63.10 +/- 12.76 years. The etiology of stroke was ischemic 78 per cent and hemorrhagic 22 per cent. The mean duration of stroke onset was 4.11 +/- 1.96 days. The risk factors for stroke with their relative risks were: transient ischemic attack (TIA) 9.3, previous stroke 9, moderate to severe hypertension (HT) 6.5, heart disease 5.2, hyperlipidemia 4.6, diabetes mellitus 4.5, current smoking 3.8 and daily drinking 3.6. Whereas, physical exercise showed a protective effect on the development of stroke. CONCLUSION: Risk factors for stroke in Thai patients at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were TIA, previous stroke, moderate to severe HT, heart disease, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, current smoking and daily drinking. Physical exercise was a positive predictor.