The risk of stroke and associated risk factors in a health examination population: A cross-sectional study

Health examination is an important method for early detection of people with different risk of stroke. This study estimates the risk of stroke and identify risk factors for people who underwent health examinations at the Health Examination Center at West China Hospital, Sichuan University from July 2014 to February 2018. A total of 31,464 people were recruited in this study and divided into 3 groups (low risk, moderate risk, and high risk) according to risk of stroke. We explored possible factors associated with the risk of stroke by using multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis. Among the participants, 17,959 were at low risk, 11,825 were at moderate risk, and 1680 were at high risk. Age, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, uric acid, diastolic pressure, systolic pressure, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were independent significant risk factors for stroke, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was an independent protective factor for stroke. Interestingly, with increasing age, the percentage of people at moderate or high risk of stroke was increased. The percentages of people at moderate and high risk of stroke were also increased with respect to the stages of baPWV. This study showed that >40% of the participants were at moderate or high risk of stroke, especially the older participants. Several factors were related to the risk of stroke, especially baPWV. Some preventive action may be adopted early, and more attention can be paid to the health examination population.