Factors Linked to Chronic Kidney Disease Among Stroke Survivors in Ghana

Younger age of stroke in low-middle income countries is related to healthcare access and quality

Stroke is the second leading cause of mortality globally with higher burden and younger age in low‐middle income countries (LMICs) than high‐income countries (HICs). However, it is unclear to what extent differences in healthcare access and quality (HAQ) and prevalence of risk factors between LMICs and HICs contribute to younger age of stroke in LMICs. In this systematic review, we conducted meta‐analysis of 67 articles and compared the mean age of stroke between LMICs and HICs, before and after adjusting for HAQ index. We also compared the prevalence of main stroke risk factors between HICs and LMICs. The unadjusted mean age of stroke in LMICs was significantly lower than HICs (63.1 vs. 68.6), regardless of gender (63.9 vs. 66.6 among men, and 65.6 vs. 70.7 among women) and whether data were collected in population‐ (64.7 vs. 69.5) or hospital‐based (62.6 vs. 65.9) studies (all p < 0.01). However, after adjusting for HAQ index, the difference in the mean age of stroke between LMICs and HICs was not significant (p ≥ 0.10), except among women (p = 0.048). In addition, while the median prevalence of hypertension in LMICs was 23.4% higher than HICs, the prevalence of all other risk factors was lower in LMICs than HICs. Our findings suggest a much larger contribution of HAQ to the younger mean age of stroke in LMICs, as compared with other potential factors. Additional studies on stroke care quality and accessibility are needed in LMICs.

Influence of age on links between major modifiable risk factors and stroke occurrence in West Africa

Background The burden of stroke in Africa is high. Understanding how age associates with major modifiable stroke risk factors could inform tailored demographic stroke prevention strategies. Purpose To quantify the magnitude and direction of the effect sizes of key modifiable stroke risk factors according to three age groups: <50 years (young), 50-65 years (middle age) and > 65 years (elderly) in West Africa. Methods This was a case-control study involving 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria. Cases included adults aged ≥18 years with CT/MRI scan-typed stroke. Controls were age-and gender-matched stroke-free adults. Detailed evaluations for vascular, lifestyle and psychosocial factors were performed. We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) using conditional logistic regression and population attributable risk (PAR) with 95% Confidence Interval of vascular risk factors by age groups. Results Among 3553 stroke cases, 813 (22.9%) were young, 1441 (40.6%) were middle-aged and 1299 (36.6%) were elderly. Among the 5 co-shared risk factors, dyslipidemia with PAR and aOR (95%CI) of 62.20% (52.82-71.58) and 4.13 (2.64-6.46) was highest among the young age group; hypertension with PAR of 94.31% (91.82-96.80) and aOR of 28.93 (15.10-55.44) was highest among the middle-age group. Diabetes with PAR of 32.29%(27.52-37.05) and aOR of 3.49 (2.56-4.75); meat consumption with PAR of 42.34%(32.33-52.35) and aOR of 2.40 (1.76, 3.26); and non-consumption of green vegetables, PAR of 16.81%(12.02-21.60) and aOR of 2.23 (1.60-3.12) were highest among the elderly age group. However confidence intervals of risk estimates overlapped across age groups. Additionally, among the young age group cigarette smoking, psychosocial stress and cardiac disease were independently associated with stroke. Furthermore, education, stress, physical inactivity and salt intake were associated with stroke in the middle-age group while cardiac disease was associated with stroke in the elderly age group. Conclusion There is a differential influence of age on the associations of major risk factors with stroke in this West African cohort. Targeting modifiable factors predominant within an age group may be more effective as a stroke prevention strategy.