Characteristics of stroke cases and controls
| Community controls (n = 96) | p Value | Cases (n = 214) | p Value | Hospital controls (n = 99) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BP, blood pressure; HDL, high density lipoprotein. | |||||
| Values are mean (SD), unless indicated otherwise. | |||||
| Smoking was defined as current use of inhaled tobacco. | |||||
| Hypercholesterolaemia was defined as (1) previously diagnosed by a physician or (2) receiving lipid lowering treatment or (3) total cholesterol ⩾240 or low density lipoprotein ⩾160. | |||||
| Diabetes mellitus was defined as (1) previously diagnosed by a physician (prescribed treatment) or (2) on oral hypoglycaemic agents or insulin or (3) fasting blood sugar >126, single measurement available only. | |||||
| Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ⩾140 or diastolic blood pressure ⩾90 or any treatment for high blood pressure. | |||||
| ATP III criteria: triglycerides ⩾150, high density lipoprotein <40 for men or <50 for men, blood pressure ⩾ 130/85 or on treatment, fasting blood sugar ⩾100 or on treatment. | |||||
| p values are based on t test for comparison of means, and Fisher’s exact test for proportions. | |||||
| *Age distribution of cases, n (%): 15–20 years 13 (6); 21–30 years 49 (23); 31–40 years 104 (49); 41–45 years 48 (22). Age distribution of hospital controls, n (%): 15–20 years 9 (9); 21–30 years: 28 (28); 31–40 years 42 (43); 41–45 years 20 (20). Age distribution of community controls, n (%): 15–20 years 3 (3); 21–30 years 36 (37); 31–40 years 37 (39); 41–45 years 20 (21). | |||||
| Age (y)* | 33 (8) | 0.04 | 35 (7) | 0.03 | 33 (8) |
| Men (%) | 42 | <0.001 | 66 | 0.52 | 63 |
| Current smoking (%) | 6 | <0.001 | 37 | <0.001 | 12 |
| Blood pressure | |||||
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 122 (12) | 0.008 | 127 (17) | 0.44 | 125 (14) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 81 (7) | 0.25 | 82 (11) | 0.14 | 80 (9) |
| Hypertension (%) | 17 | 0.001 | 36 | 0.09 | 25 |
| Hypertension treatment (%) | 5 | 0.10 | 12 | 0.10 | 5 |
| Lipids | |||||
| Serum total cholesterol (mmol/l) | 5.55 (1.14) | 0.41 | 5.38 (1.89) | 0.79 | 5.32 (1.21) |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.40 (0.33) | <0.001 | 0.94 (0.30) | <0.001 | 1.24 (0.32) |
| Non-HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 4.15 (1.22) | 0.36 | 4.29 (1.20) | .22 | 4.11 (1.08) |
| Total cholesterol/HDL ratio | 4.2 (1.5) | <0.001 | 5.9 (1.9) | <0.001 | 4.5 (1.2) |
| Hypercholesterolaemia (%) | 33 | 0.50 | 29 | 0.41 | 24 |
| Treatment for dyslipidaemia | Nil | 1.000 | 1 | 0.04 | 5 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.23 (0.76) | <0.001 | 1.61 (0.94) | 0.19 | 1.47 (0.68) |
| Glycaemia | |||||
| Fasting blood sugar (mmol/l) | 4.34 (1.03) | <0.001 | 5.26 (2.53) | 0.52 | 5.09 (1.83) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 4 | 0.02 | 14 | 0.13 | 7 |
| Treatment for diabetes (%) | 1 | 0.01 | 8 | 0.36 | 5 |
| Metabolic syndrome traits (%) | |||||
| BP ⩾130/85 mm Hg or on antihypertensive treatment | 26 | <0.001 | 50 | 0.81 | 49 |
| HDL <40 (men), <50 mg/dl (women) or lipid lowering treatment | 26 | <0.001 | 65 | <0.001 | 35 |
| Triglycerides ⩾150 mg/dl | 18 | 0.02 | 31 | 0.35 | 25 |
| Fasting blood sugar ⩾100 mg/dl or on treatment | 4 | <0.001 | 23 | 1.000 | 23 |
| ⩾3 ATP III criteria | 6 | <0.001 | 27 | 0.008 | 13 |