Risk factors and 20-year stroke mortality in men and women in the Renfrew/Paisley study in Scotland

Background and Purpose-The aim of this study was to relate risk factors in middle-aged men and women to stroke mortality over a long follow-up period. Methods-In the early to mid 1970s, 7052 men and 8354 women from the Renfrew /Paisley prospective cohort study in Scotland were screened when aged 45 to 64 years. Risk factors measured included blood pressure, blood cholesterol and glucose, respiratory function, cardiothoracic ratio, smoking habit, he ight, body mass index, age, preexisting coronary heart disease, and diabete s. These were related to stroke mortality over 20 years of follow-up. Results-Women's stroke mortality rates were similar to men's, unlike corona ry heart disease mortality, in which case women's rates were lower than men 's. Diastolic and systolic blood pressure, smoking, cardiothoracic ratio, p reexisting coronary heart disease, and diabetes were positively related to stroke mortality for men and women, while adjusted forced expiratory volume in 1 second and height were negatively related. Cholesterol and body mass index were not related to stroke mortality. Glucose in nondiabetics was pos itively related to stroke mortality for women but not men, and there was ev idence of a threshold effect at the highest levels of glucose. Former smoke rs had mortality rates that were similar to those of never-smokers. In sex- specific multivariate models, most variables retained a statistically signi ficant association with stroke mortality, illustrating the multifactorial e tiology of stroke. Conclusions-Overall, findings for women were similar to those for men. Cont rol of risk factors for reduction of stroke mortality should be targeted at men and women in a similar fashion, particularly with reference to smoking cessation and blood pressure control.