ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the risk factors and etiology in young adults with ischemic stroke.Methods From June 2014 to June 2017,consecutive patients with first-ever ischemic stroke aged from 18 to 45 years and admitted to the Department of Neurology,the Third People's Hospital of Chengdu were collected retrospectively.The demographic data,vascular risk factors,National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score,location of infarction,and etiological subtypes were documented.They were divided into either a male group or a female group according to the gender,and they were divided into 2 age groups of 18-35 years and 36-45 years.Results A total of 103 young adults with ischemic stroke were enrolled during the study.Among them,the proportion of men was higher than that of women (73.8％ vs.26.2％).The most common 5 risk factors were smoking,abnormal lipid metabolism,drinking alcohol,hypertension,and large atherosclerosis,respectively.The proportions of abnormal glucose metabolism (37.2％ vs.11.8％),hypertension (46.5％ vs.11.8％),and large artery atherosclerosis (37.2％ vs.11.8％) in the age group of 36-45 years were significantly higher than those in the age group of 18-35 years (all P＜0.05).The proportions of smoking (67.1％ vs.14.8％) and drinking alcohol (51.3％ vs.18.5％) in the male group were significantly higher than those in the female group (all P＜ 0.05).In the etiological aspect,the proportion of cryptogenic stroke in the age group of 18-35 years was significantly higher than that in the age group of 36-45 years (47.1％ vs.15.1％;P=0.006),while the proportion of the large artery atherosclerotic stroke was significantly lower than that in the age group of 36-45 years (11.8％vs.41.9％;P =0.019).There were no significant differences in the etiological subtypes between different sex groups.Conclusion The distribution of risk factors and etiological subtypes in young patients with ischemic stroke have some differences in different gender and age groups.Some common modifiable risk factors (such as smoking,drinking,abnormal lipid metabolism,etc.) still account for a higher proportion in young adults with ischemic stroke.