Lifestyle factors raise stroke risk

Smoking, poor diet and an expanded waistline are included in a check-list of 10 risk factors most closely associated with stroke, experts revealed.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Jun 2010, 00:03 BST

Together, the list of harmful conditions and behaviours accounted for 90 per cent of stroke risk. They were identified by researchers involved in the Interstroke study looking at the lifestyle and biological factors that contribute to stroke in 22 countries.

The Canadian-led scientists analysed data from 3,000 patients who suffered their first stroke between March 2007 and April 2010.

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Their personal details were compared with those of a "control" population of 3,000 healthy individuals.

The 10 key risk factors were: high blood pressure, current smoking, abdominal obesity, poor diet, lack of physical exercise, diabetes, excess alcohol consumption, stress and depression, heart disorders, and the presence of blood fat molecules called apolipoproteins.

Five lifestyle-linked factors – high blood pressure, smoking, abdominal obesity, diet and physical activity – accounted for more than 80 per cent of the worldwide risk of stroke on their own.

Most of the risk factors mirrored those associated with heart attacks, previously highlighted in another study called Interheart.

The results were published online by The Lancet medical journal. The study was led by Dr Martin O'Donnell, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.