PARENTAL HISTORY OF CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE AND RISK OF STROKE - A PROSPECTIVE FOLLOW-UP OF 14,371 MIDDLE-AGED MEN AND WOMEN IN FINLAND

Background mid Purpose Studies on risk factors for stroke have been le ss intensive than those for coronary disease. Only a few studies have addressed the question of the role of heredity in the occurrence of st roke. We analyzed whether a positive parental history of cardiovascula r disease predicts the risk of stroke independently from other risk fa ctors and whether the role of parental history varies by age and strok e subtypes. Methods This study was a prospective follow-up of 14 371 m iddle-aged men and women. A positive parental history of cardiovascula r disease was defined as either stroke or coronary disease before the age of 60 years. The end point of the follow-up was an incident case o f stroke. Multivariate analyses were performed with the Cox proportion al hazards model. Results The risk ratio of stroke after multifactoria l adjustment (age, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and education) associated with a positive parental history of stroke was 1.89 (P=.004) in men and 1.80 (P=.007) in women. The association betwe en parental history of stroke and the risk of stroke was stronger amon g subjects aged 25 to 49 years than among older subjects. Parental his tory of coronary disease was not associated with the risk of stroke in men, but in women it had a borderline significant association with th e risk of ischemic stroke. Conclusions A positive parental history of stroke predicted the risk of stroke independently from the other risk factors.