Family history in ischemic stroke before 70 years of age: the Sahlgrenska Academy Study on Ischemic Stroke.
OBJECTIVE
Results from twin and family history studies of ischemic stroke suggest that future molecular genetic studies should focus on strictly defined stroke subtypes and younger cases. Accordingly, we investigated stroke subtypes, vascular risk factors, and family history in a large study of patients with ischemic stroke onset before age 70 years.


METHODS
Six hundred consecutive white participants with ischemic stroke (18 to 69 years) and 600 age- and sex-matched controls were examined for vascular risk factors and family history of stroke and myocardial infarction (MI). Stroke subtype was defined using Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) criteria.


RESULTS
Family history of stroke was associated with overall ischemic stroke (multivariate odds ratio [OR], 1.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26 to 2.43), large-vessel disease (LVD) (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.44), small-vessel disease (SVD, OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.13 to 2.84), and cryptogenic stroke (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.13 to 2.56), but not with cardioembolic stroke. Family history of MI was strongly associated with LVD (OR, 3.25; 95% CI, 1.74 to 6.07), whereas no significant association were observed for other subtypes. We also found an independent association between family history of stroke and a favorable outcome after 3 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Family history of stroke is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke with onset before age 70 years. For the first time to our knowledge, we report this association not only for LVD and SVD but also for cryptogenic stroke, implying that future studies of the genetics of ischemic stroke should target these 3 subtypes.
Jood
Katarina
K
Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, Sweden.
Ladenvall
Claes
C
Rosengren
Annika
A
Blomstrand
Christian
C
Jern
Christina
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000235:genetics; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome