title: The association between hay fever and stroke in a cohort of middle aged and elderly adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma has been linked to stroke, but it is unknown if hay fever is related to stroke. This study was designed to investigate if there is an association between a reported history of hay fever and stroke during a 4.4-year study period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis was performed of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, a cohort of middle aged and elderly adults. We examined the association of a reported history of hay fever to the development of stroke.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 9272 participants meeting our criteria, of which 125 had strokes. Of those with a history of hay fever, 2.2% had a stroke. Of those without a history of hay fever, 1.25% had a stroke. Participants with a history of hay fever had an unadjusted hazard ratio of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.08-2.27) for stroke versus participants without hay fever. Risk of stroke remained significant (hazard ratio, 1.87 [95% CI, 1.17-2.99]) after controlling for age, sex, race, smoking status, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, alcohol use, and hyperlipidemia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A history of hay fever seems to be a risk factor for stroke, and this association may be an area for future research and intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. matheson@musc.edu
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Matheson
authors.forename: Marty S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Player
authors.forename: Arch G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Mainous
authors.forename: Dana E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Everett
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D015984:Causality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology*