Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke in Wonju, Korea

Although stroke is a great public health challenge in Korea, there have been few epidemiologic studies of the risk factors for stroke. A case-control study was performed to evaluate the risk factors for hemorrhagic stroke in Wonju, Korea, Ninety-five subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and 102 intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients aged 21 ∼86 years, and 267 controls were recruited among the inpatients of Wonju Christian Hospital during 1994 ∼ 1995. Information was gathered through interviews and examinations. After adjustment for age and sex, family and past history of hypertension, drinking habits, age of menarche, height, weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumference, earlobe crease, prothrombin time, white blood cell count, hemoglobin, and total cholesterol were all found to be significantly associated with both SAH and ICH. The risk factor significantly associated only with ICH was smoking habits. In multiple logistic analyses, the independent risk factors for SAH and ICH were the same. Those included family and past history of hypertension, age of menarche, earlobe crease, prothrombin time, white blood cell count, hemoglobin and total cholesterol In general, the risk factors for SAH and ICH were similar with each other, except smoking habits. Risk factors found in this study congruent with previous studies were family and past history of hypertension, drinking habits, body mass index, prothrombin time, white blood cell count, and hemoglobin. Those incongruent or rather newly found were age of menarche, a big physique, earlobe crease, and total cholesterol.