Behavioral risk factor prevalence and lifestyle change after stroke - A prospective study

Background and Purpose-Stroke patients have a 15-fold increased risk of rec urrent stroke, and those with greater than or equal to 1 risk factor have a further increased risk of recurrence. Previous work found management of ph ysiological risk factors after stroke to be unsatisfactory, but there is li ttle information on behavioral risks within the stroke population. This stu dy estimates behavioral risk factor prevalence after stroke and explores li festyle change. Methods-The study used data from the population-based South London Stroke R egister, collected prospectively between 1995 and 1998. Main measures inclu ded smoking status, alcohol use, and obesity. Logistic regression was used to determine sociodemographic differences in these measures. Results-At 1 year after stroke, 22% of patients still smoked, 36% of patien ts were obese, and 4% drank excessively. Younger patients, whites, and men were more likely to smoke, and younger whites were more likely to drink exc essively. Women and nonwhites were more likely to be obese. Those living in hospital, nursing home, or residential care and nonwhites were more likely to give up smoking, but there were no other associations between lifestyle change and the sociodemographic characteristics of patients. Conclusions-Different behavioral risk factors were associated with specific sociodemographic groups within the stroke population. After stroke, high-r isk groups should continue to be targeted to prevent stroke recurrence. How ever, the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and Lifesty le change remains unclear; more research is needed into the process of chan ge to find out how best to intervene to improve secondary prevention.