title: Symptoms and risk factors for stroke in a community-based observational sample in Viet Nam.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Viet Nam is experiencing a health transition from infectious to chronic disease. Data on cardiovascular diseases, including strokes, are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were randomly collected from six communities in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on participant demographics, medical history, blood pressure, anthropometrics and health behavior using World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Stroke symptoms were collected by self-report with the standardized Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke Free Status. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the presence of stroke symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One thousand six hundred and twenty one adults were examined with a mean age of 52.0 years (± 12.5 years), of which 56.1% were women. 27.3% of the participants were found to have hypertension, 26.2% used tobacco, and 16.1% were overweight. More than two-thirds of the participants with hypertension were unaware of their condition. Almost one fourth of the participants were identified by the questionnaire as previously experiencing at least one stroke symptom. Age, rural residence, and education were associated with the presence of stroke symptoms. Models adjusted for demographics found hypertension, high cholesterol, reported severe chest pain, former smoking, and being overweight to be associated with a higher prevalence of stroke symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high frequency of stroke symptoms in Da Nang calls for further evaluation and interventions to reduce hypertension and other risk factors for chronic disease in Viet Nam and other health transition countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. fitzpal@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Annette L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: Quang Van
authors.initials: QV
authors.lastname: Ngo
authors.forename: Kiet A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Ly
authors.forename: Thanh G N
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Ton
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Longstreth
authors.forename: Tung T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Vo
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heitzinger
authors.forename: Chien H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Tirschwell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology
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