Prevalence and Risk Factors of Stroke in Rural Bangladesh: A Survey with Community Health Workers on 1·3 million people (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide, with an estimated 6.2 million deaths each year. In Bangladesh, data on stroke prevalence and risk factors in rural areas is limited, making it difficult to develop effective early prevention and intervention programs. This study aimed to present the prevalence of stroke in a rural community in Bangladesh and to identify and associate various stroke risk factors. Data collection was done by community health workers (CHWs), as a part of “Enriched Sastho” program of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation, Bangladesh. CHWs received two weeks of training to ensure data quality. The presence of stroke was determined by a binary survey question, with a history of stroke indicated by a "1" and absence indicated by a "0". The study analyzed data from 1,341,589 individuals, with an average age of 29.23 years. The overall stroke prevalence was found to be 1.07 per 1,000 people, with higher prevalence in males and increases with age. The highest stroke prevalence was observed in the Khulna division and the least in the Rangpur division. Hypertension (67.55%) and diabetes (25.21%) were the most common non-communicable diseases among stroke patients. The study emphasizes the need for early prevention and intervention programs for stroke in rural Bangladesh and the importance of managing hypertension and diabetes to reduce stroke risk.