title: Analysis of risk factors for stroke in a cohort of men born in 1913.
abstract: We analyzed parental death from stroke and other potential risk factors in relation to the incidence of stroke among 789 men, all 54 years old at the base-line examination. During 18.5 years of follow-up, 57 men (7.2 percent) had strokes. In univariate analyses, the following characteristics correlated significantly with the incidence of stroke: increased systolic (P = 0.004) and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.0001), larger waist circumference (P = 0.007), higher waist:hip ratio (P = 0.0004), increased plasma fibrinogen level (P = 0.01), and lower vital capacity (P = 0.03). In addition, men whose mothers had died of stroke had a threefold increase in their incidence of stroke as compared with men without such a maternal history (P = 0.0005). Potential risk factors for stroke that were not confirmed were body-mass index, serum cholesterol level, hematocrit, blood glucose level, smoking, coronary heart disease, electrocardiographic signs of left ventricular hypertrophy, and a paternal history of death from stroke. In multivariate analyses, increased blood pressure, abdominal obesity, increased plasma fibrinogen level, and maternal history still correlated significantly with the risk of stroke. A maternal history of stroke should probably be added to the list of risk factors for stroke among middle-aged men.
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D012306:Risk; D014797:Vital Capacity
chemical_list: D005340:Fibrinogen